Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Will Spotify restrict free listening?; Napster and the ‘culture of free’; mobile boosts global ad revenue. Continue Reading
Following on the release of its global year-in-review earlier this week, Spotify has also added a tool so that individuals can check out their 2014 listening data. The feature breaks down your song choices over the past 12 months into very detailed genres. The data is interesting on its own, but Spotify took things a step further with Play it Forward, where the streaming platform can create a personalized playlist of songs based on what you liked most in 2014. Continue Reading
Spotify today announced the launch of a geo-targeted advertising platform for its ad-supported freemium service level. The initial rollout includes the top 15 listening markets. Launch partner Triton Digital provides verification metrics through its Webcast Local Metrics product. We spoke to Spotify ad exec Brian Benedik. Continue Reading
Spotify can always be counted on for a data-centric approach to music, and its year-in-review is no exception. Released today, the Year in Music site shared key milestones and top music from 2014. Ed Sheeran was the top-streamed male artist, and Katy Perry was the top female artist. Continue Reading
Spotify is opening up an option for third-party app developers to sell their creations on mobile app stores. The streaming platform announced that it has removed the distribution restrictions for programs made in the Spotify iOS SDK (software development kit) and Spotify Android SDK. As long as an app meets the Developer Terms of Use, the creators can pursue any avenues they choose for monetizing their Spotify-related programs. Continue Reading
Spotify released its 2013 financials, with a basic P&L that tells a vigorous growth story, higher revenue, and lower loss compared to the previous year. At the same time, most of the gross revenue was paid into the music industry as licensing expenses. Continue Reading
Spotify has reportedly posted a profit in France for the first time, Billboard reported. The streaming service allegedly had 66% growth in revenue during 2013 for a total of 18.75 million euros. Profit was more than 311,000 euros. Continue Reading
Spotify is expecting to expand its team by about a third, according to cofounder and Chairman of the Board Martin Lorentzon. He told reporters at a trade fair in Finland that the streaming company was recruiting around 500 new employees to join the current staff of 1,500 people. Continue Reading
Imagine getting into a taxi and hearing your Spotify playlist, which you were just listening to, coming out of the car stereo. That is the vision, and starting this Friday the reality, of a partnership announced today by Uber and Spotify. The heart of the deal is about ownership vs. access, of both music and transportation. Continue Reading
The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers And Authors weighed in on Taylor Swift’s decision to remove all of her music from Spotify over concerns that the singer was not being fairly compensated for her music. BASCA voiced support for Swift’s decision, but used the situation to call attention to the disparity in royalties paid to performers compared with those given to songwriters. Continue Reading
When a global consumer service loses the most popular product in its catalog, it’s pretty bad news on the face of it. The seriousness of Taylor Swift’s much-publicized withdrawal from Spotify is perhaps reflected in the gravity and scope of founder Daniel Ek’s blog response yesterday. But crowd opinion, and thousands of news articles, might add up to good publicity. Spotify itself is uniquely asking Taylor Swift to return, with a “Come back, Taylor!” playlist. Continue Reading
The decision by Taylor Swift and her label, Big Machine, to remove her entire back catalog from Spotify sparked a wave of debates and arguments about the pros and cons of the streaming music economy. Swift herself said in an interview with Yahoo that the reason for her action was her skepticism about streaming platforms. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote a lengthy blog post in an effort to clear up misunderstandings about the streaming ecosystem that have sparked many of the most vocal diabtribes. Continue Reading