Mark Mulligan: What $500 Million And Jay-Z Say About the State Of Streaming In 2015
by Mark Mulligan
Guest contributor Mark Mulligan examines Spotify’s new financing efforts and Jay-Z’s foray into the streaming business. Continue Reading
Spotify
Spotify seeks $500M new funding; Jason Calacanis predicts Facebook takeover
The Wall Street Journal reports that Spotify “has expressed a desire” to raise $500-million in private investment, and is working with Goldman Sachs to achieve it. Meanwhile, in an unrelated analysis, past RAIN Summit keynoter Jason Calacanis predicts that Facebook will acquire Spotify. Continue Reading
Spotify and Sony partner for new PlayStation Music service
In a development that could impact streaming audience share of the competitive music-service market, Sony announced that it will launch PlayStation Music with Spotify as an exclusive partner. This means an integrated music service is coming to the PlayStation Network’s 64 million active users. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Spotify fires its PR; a piracy reality check
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Spotify drops longstanding PR firm; continued piracy problems and potential solutions. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Global digital music outlook; Spotify gets tactile on iOS
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Billboard on global digital music projections; Spotify adds touch and swipe controls on mobile. Continue Reading
Spotify brings Windows Phone app up to speed
Windows Phone might be a forgotten stepchild of mobile devices, but its market share has more than doubled since 2011. Spotify announced an upgrade to its Windows Phone app which brings beauty and essential features that Android and iOS users are accustomed to onto the platform. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: High-def streaming preferences; Spotify’s Diversify hackathon
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: What high-def streamers are listening to; Spotify hosts diversity-centric hackathon. Continue Reading
Spotify partners with Pixels for local Hong Kong advertising
In the latest of a string of announcements related to Spotify’s brand marketing opportunities, the global music service has partnered with Hong Kong-based Pixels, a multi-faceted advertising solutions company. The company intends this alliance to further Spotify’s penetration in the local Hong Kong digital ad market. Continue Reading
Mark Mulligan: What Spotify’s December Growth Tells Us About Pricing
by Mark Mulligan
Guest contributor Mark Mulligan examines Spotify’s recent subscriber reports (15-million paying users), and recommends pricing elasticity for subscription services. Continue Reading
Spotify releases Brand Impact study of streamer behavior
Spotify posted strong subscriber numbers to kick off 2015, and at the same time is building its ad-supported business in its free-listening service. The company sponsored a brand impact study by comScore to investigate the streaming consumer experience. The results portray the streaming audience as one that’s accessible and open to marketing and brand initiatives. Continue Reading
Spotify hits 60 million listeners, with a quarter paying Premium
Spotify announced that it kicked off 2015 with 60 million active users, including 15 million paying subscribers. The company also shared a short celebratory playlist on its blog in honor of the milestone. Continue Reading
Spotify reportedly won’t be joining new Google Cast service
In sharing the news of Google Cast from CES, we noted that the tech giant could face an uphill battle getting both streaming audio services and hardware companies to sign on to its vision for at-home listening. Less than a week after the announcement, Google Cast already has a major player that’s not interested: Spotify. Continue Reading