Spotify is raising its social media game with the launch of a new collaborative function called Jam. It’s a group-playlisting feature that builds on the previously released Collaborative Playlist by putting the social activity in realtime, and giving it a phone-touching in-person aspect. Unlike many cautiously incremental launches, Jam is available globally now. Premium users start Jams, then any user can join. Continue Reading
Spotify is piloting an AI tool which translates any podcast into alternate languages, called Voice Translation for Podcasts. The translation is one part. Perhaps more startling is the AI technology which also synthesizes a voice sounding identical to the original. Click for more. Continue Reading
Spotify today unleashed a fusillade of features targeted to its enterprise podcast customers, and to independent creators in the Spotify for Podcasters program. Fulfilling hints made in March, the company is now rolling out several publishing enhancements: Show page customization will… Continue Reading
Spotify made news during its Q2 earnings report (See RAIN HERE and HERE) for raising its monthly Spotify Premium subscription rate from $9.99 to $10.99. Investor reaction, as a whole, could be characterized as “It’s about time.” Our survey of current music subscription pricing does support some investor impatience with Spotify, with six competing services having already boosted to that level.
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Acast has selected Podscribe as its “preferred attribution partner” in all markets. It’s a meaningful and sweeping endorsement of Podscribe’s performance analytics in podcast advertising. The other half of that handshake appears to be a back-of-hand reference to Spotify’s Ad Analytics tool which launched just two months ago. Continue Reading
Leading podcast entrepreneur and Spotify star Alex Cooper, creator of Call Her Daddy, is forming a podcast company with her fiancee Matt Kaplan (Founder/CEO of ACE Entertainment). The company is called The Unwell Network. This enterprise does not change Cooper’s exclusive licensing of Call Her Daddy on Spotify. Continue Reading
Spotify has built a new piece of linkage between the streaming giant’s platform and Patreon, where many subscription podcasts are managed. The new connectivity allows Patreon subscribers to access their paid-for podcasts within the Spotify app. Continue Reading
Spotify released its Q2 earnings report yesterday. Company executives Daniel Ek (CEO) and Paul Vogal (CFO) answered investor questions. Topics ranged from the recently announced subscription rate for Premium members, to company over-investment in podcasting, the Spotify Podcast Ad Network (SPAN), and the use of artificial intelligence. Click for the rundown with quotes. Continue Reading
Spotify released its Q2 earnings this morning. The company told a story of exceeding expectations. Meanwhile, the stock market savaged SPOT stock price in today’s morning session. The apparent discrepancy lies between topline revenue and operating income. Click for details, linkage to Spotify financial statements, and graphics. Continue Reading
Investors were getting restless. The company promised. Today, the moment is at hand. After 12 years of delivering the Spotify Premium service at the $9.99/month price point, Spotify has announced a raise to $10.99. We examine Spotify’s user-growth trend lines, and make a rough estimate of the financial impact in advance of tomorrow’s earnings call. Continue Reading
Spotify will launch a third subscription tier to its legacy two-tier access, introducing a “Supremium” plan above its current subscription and free-listening options. This according the Ashley Carman’s reporting at Bloomberg — and CEO Daniel Ek promised it during the Q1 earnings call. We look at the rumored benefits, and compare to competitors. Featuring RAIN’s Spotify user growth chart. Continue Reading
In a vigorous and comprehensive product launch, Spotify today introduces Spotify Ad Analytics, a set of advertiser tools and solutions across podcast and music advertising. The new pixel-based technologies announced today grew from the company’s acquisition of then-indie attribution company Podsights over a year ago. Click for details and analysis of this important evolution in Spotify’s ad business. Continue Reading