Which company is winning the “music streaming wars”? Will that company be able to remain on top or does one of its competitors have a better long-term strategy? And what are the biggest threats and/or issues facing all music streamers today? Limit: 10 responses
Erin Fennell
ReplyDeletePT 1.
I am not someone who streams music or listens to music a ton; however, even I can see the hierarchy of streaming platforms and the changes that are occurring in the industry. Currently, Spotify is high at the top, with 406 million users and 108 subscribers. This is in comparison to Apple Music’s 60 million users, and Amazon Prime's 55 million users (Dredge, 2022). This isn’t too surprising since Spotify is what almost everyone I know personally, and everyone I see on social media, uses. However, the question to be asked is whether or not Spotify can maintain this top spot in streaming, or will its competitors take over. In my opinion, Spotify’s biggest competition is with Apple music. An article in the LA Times explains; “Apple, for example, can offer discounts on subscriptions to its services or longer free trials because it makes the majority of its revenue through selling iPhones” (Lee and Pearce, 2022). The article continues with, “...and unlike Google, Spotify does not make its own phones or provide the operating system to phones, meaning that it would need to partner with those companies, many who have their own competing streaming services” (Lee and Pearce, 2022). Spotify had to create its own platform from the ground up, and they do not have the option to offer the same benefits as Apple, because they do not sell phones and other electronics that are compatible with their service right away. Spotify's entire business is music (and as of recently podcasts), while Apple and even Amazon have other entities to fall back on (Lee and Pearce, 2022), and I think this will be the primary way that Apple can succeed over Spotify in the music streaming industry.
In addition to these challenges for Spotify, one of the biggest threats for the music streaming industry, as a whole, is Tok-tok. Tok-tok has become one of the largest determining factors in whether a song does well. According to an article by Business Insider, “Songs that trend on Tok-tok often end up charting on the Billboard 100 or Spotify Viral 50. And 67% of the app's users are more likely to seek out songs on music- streaming services after hearing them on Tok-tok” (Whateley, 2022). This changes the way that music is found and affects what streaming services will succeed. This may seem like a tool for streaming platforms, which it is, but it is also a threat to services that do not take advantage of it. This also forces streamers to compete with Tok-tok and artists on there to get their songs promoted, especially since “Tok-tok has introduced its own music service Resso in Brazil, Indonesia and India, and it’s starting to get a following” (Shaw, 2021). Gen Z has also proved an issue for streaming services. This generation prefers Tik Tok over all other social media and online platforms, so this new launch by Tok-tok could prove to be a major issue for many of the music industry (Shaw, 2021).
Erin Fennell
DeletePT 2.
Work cited
Lee, W., & Pearce, M. (2022, February 4). News analysis: Spotify's biggest problem isn't Joe Rogan. it's ambition. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-02-04/spotify-rogan-controversy-neil-young-ek
Musically. (2022, February 3). How many users do Spotify, Apple Music and streaming services have? Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://musically.com/2022/02/03/spotify-apple-how-many-users-big-music-streaming-services/
Shaw, L. (2021, December 19). Spotify Has a Gen Z Problem. Or Is It an Opportunity? Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-19/spotify-has-a-gen-z-problem-here-s-how-it-s-learning-from-tiktok
Whateley, D. (2022, January 3). How Tiktok is changing the music industry. Business Insider. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7#:~:text=TikTok%20is%20an%20essential%20promotional,generated%20posts%20from%20their%20fans
Vera Helein
ReplyDeleteI am a huge consumer of all things music, whether that be streaming, vinyl, CDs, or just jamming in my car. Music streaming is one of the best things to come from the 21st century. I think Spotify is the leading music streamer. I think the strategies they have implemented so far have been extremely successful, but as I mentioned in my pitch, there is a fatal flaw with their system, in terms of royalties. A lot of Spotify’s innovation makes up for this right now, but I think it could be the thing that eventually sets them back.
Spotify is innovative in its way to appeal to its users almost like a form of social media. The algorithm is specified in catering music to individual people and their tastes. It allows users to make collaborative playlists with their friends and see how their music preferences compare. Every year they show users the statistics of their listening over the past year. On top of all of this, Spotify has a huge catalog of music and podcasts to choose from. However, despite all these innovative efforts, they still aren’t reaching the younger demographic (Shaw). I think Spotify’s strategy to add a visual element to remedy this problem is smart. In comparison to Apple Music, which is the next largest competitor, I think Spotify will continue to lead as the music streaming wars continue. I think Spotify making its services social and adding a video element is enough to keep it in the lead. These strategies show why Spotify is in the top dog in terms of audio streaming, however, is it enough to cover up the damage they’re causing to the artists that make the platform successful?
Spotify has come under fire many times for its unfair payment to its artists. In comparison to Apple Music, it pays less than half of what they do to artists, which is ridiculous considering Apple only pays one cent per stream (Casey). A lot of musicians, especially more indie and underground musicians, rely on streaming to make an income (Andrews). Even larger name artists have an issue with the system Spotify has in place. It was this system that caused Jay-Z to create his music streaming service, Tidal. It was this system that caused Taylor Swift to pull her discography from Spotify for three years. This strategy is eventually going to fail them. Younger generations are more inclined to support companies that are equitable and fair, Spotify is ripping off the exact artists that make the platform successful. I think at some point this could become a huge issue for them. If the artists are unhappy, they will pull their music which could leave Spotify with minimal options.
I think it is evident Spotify is in the lead and will stay in the lead in terms of music streaming. The issue I have is a moral one, are the good strategies enough to outweigh the poor treatment? I think I am not alone in thinking this and that it may be the thing that could break Spotify.
Works Cited
Andrews, Travis M. “Spotify backlash offers rare insight into reeling music industry — and struggles of working musicians.” The Washington Post, 14 February 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/02/14/spotify-young-rogan-music-industry/. Accessed 3 March 2022.
Casey, Henry T. “Spotify vs Apple Music vs Tidal — Who pays artists more?” Tom's Guide, 4 February 2022, https://www.tomsguide.com/news/spotify-vs-apple-music-vs-tidal-who-pays-artists-more. Accessed 3 March 2022.
Shaw, Lucas. “Spotify Has a Gen Z Problem. Here's How It's Learning From TikTok.” Bloomberg.com, 19 December 2021, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-19/spotify-has-a-gen-z-problem-here-s-how-it-s-learning-from-tiktok. Accessed 3 March 2022.
Matthew Miller
ReplyDeleteThere are many companies involved in the music streaming wars. While I tend to listen to music often, I never pick the music myself. I will either use one of my friends’ playlists or let them be in charge of the music. Popular music streaming platforms include Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Pandora.
Spotify is the most popular music streaming service. According to a study using data from the 2nd quarter of 2021, “Spotify was by far the most popular music streaming service, taking a total of 31% of the market. (Leclair 2022). Spotify has a regular option, and they have a premium option. With the free version of Spotify, you can only skip six songs per hour but can skip an unlimited amount with a premium subscription. Another difference between the free version and the premium version is that you can choose certain songs within a playlist with the premium version. However, with the free version, you can only shuffle the songs or go in the order of the playlist. TikTok has both helped and hurt Spotify. It has helped Spotify because if someone hears part of a song that they like on TikTok, they will go to Spotify to listen to the song in its entirety. However, TikTok has also started its own music platform outside of the country. The current generation plays a major role in all of this as “Gen Z is also the most engaged audience with Spotify’s annual Wrapped campaign, a recap of your listening over the past year.” (Shaw 2021). I actually found out over the summer while playing basketball with friends that you can have multiple people be in charge of playing music. You can listen to the same playlist simultaneously with someone, even if you are not in the same place. I think this is a great thing that Spotify has done because it resonates with the current generation. I believe that Spotify will remain at the top of the list, especially with how much of the market they currently control. As long as Spotify continues to improve and does not remain stagnant, it will stay at the top.
All streamers and streaming platforms are facing issues today. Spotify remains in the clear lead with almost triple the amount of subscribers than the next highest streaming service — Apple Music. Heading into 2022, “Spotify had 406 million active users, including 180 million premium subscribers…. In June 2019, Apple announced that there were 60 million people paying for an Apple Music Subscription.” (Musically 2022) Apple has not updated its figures since the middle of 2019, but one would have to assume that they are still far behind Spotify regarding the number of subscribers they have. These other platforms are left competing for second place. While everyone wants to be the best, these companies have to realize that it is hard to overtake Spotify as the leading music streaming platform and must cater to the right audience. Spotify has been the top streaming service for a while now. Nothing I have seen is making me think it will change anytime soon.
Works Cited
How many users do Spotify, Apple Music and streaming services have? (2022, February 3). Retrieved March 3, 2022, from https://musically.com/2022/02/03/spotify-apple-how-many-users-big-music-streaming-services/
LeClair, D. (2022, January 20). New report reveals most popular music streaming services. How. Retrieved March 3, 2022, from https://www.howtogeek.com/781066/new-report-reveals-most-popular-music-streaming-services/
Shaw, L. (2021, December 19). Spotify Has a Gen Z Problem. Or Is It an Opportunity? Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 3, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-19/spotify-has-a-gen-z-problem-here-s-how-it-s-learning-from-tiktok
Elias King
ReplyDeleteJust how there is a “video streaming wars” that is happening right now, there is also a “music streaming wars” happening. Streaming music has become easier nowadays with music streaming apps becoming more available for people to download on their phones. Before you could stream music, people would buy CDs and albums on music stores but now you can download music right on their phone. Before Apple Music, if people wanted to buy a song or download a song, they would have to buy the song on iTunes. Since the launch of Apple Music a few years, iTunes is no longer on the Apple products. There are a lot of music streaming platforms out there that allow people to stream music. Spotify is the music streaming platform that is winning the “music streaming wars” because according to musically.com, Spotify has about 180 million subscribers. I also think another music streaming platform that isn’t talked much about but is doing well in the “music streaming wars” is YouTube Music. According to musically.com, YouTube Music has over 2 billion users and 50 million subscribers to its music streaming platform. I believe that Spotify will remain on top because so many artists are putting their music on Spotify. Also, according to fool.com, “Spotify announced it was opening its service to 80+ new markets throughout 2021 and adding 36 new languages. “This will allow them to grow their company in new markets and reach a bigger audience. A lot of music artists are putting their music on streaming music apps so that their fans can listen to them. According to Billboard.com, “Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” was the most-streamed song and most-heard song on the radio.” Famous artist Dua Lipa made her music available on music streaming apps for her fans to listen to her music. There are some threats that are facing the music streaming industry that could hurt the industry.
One of the threats to the music streaming industry are the artists. Music artists seem to be releasing their music on the music streaming platform that pays for them the most. If the music streaming platform doesn’t sign that artist, they could lose customers. There is a lot of power that the artists have. The music streaming industry other problem is that Gen Z listens less to music streaming platforms. According to Bloomberg.com, “Spotify is the most popular paid audio service in the world, and continues to add tens of millions of customers a year. But several executives at the company have expressed concern in the past few months about Generation Z.” Even Spotify who is the most popular music streaming platform, is struggling to get Gen Z customers. Music streaming companies are going to have to come up with new and creative ideas to reach a younger audience. I do still think the music streaming business will continues to grow throughout the years.
DeleteBloomberg.com, Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-19/spotify-has-a-gen-z-problem-here-s-how-it-s-learning-from-tiktok.
Caulfield, Keith. “Dua Lipa's 'Levitating' Is Most-Streamed Song of 2021 in U.S., Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous: The Double Album' Is MRC Data's Top Album.” Billboard, 6 Jan. 2022, https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/dua-lipa-morgan-wallen-us-2021-mrc-data-1235016079/#recipient_hashed=62dfc0b27ad1de67d64a0c44fb55f17fe8a7cd610e9d3f50edf2cced899812f7.
How Many Users Do Spotify, Apple Music and Streaming Services Have?, https://musically.com/2022/02/03/spotify-apple-how-many-users-big-music-streaming-services/.
Schafer, Brett. “Where Will Spotify Be in 5 Years?” The Motley Fool, The Motley Fool, 15 Apr. 2021, https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/04/15/where-will-spotify-be-in-5-years/.
As a person who is always actively listening and streaming music, I can understand and see the competition that surrounds music streaming platforms. At the end of 2021, Spotify was the highest music streaming platform with over 406 million active users and 180 million premium subscribers. It’s free subscription, which contains ads, had over 226 million listeners (Musically, 2022). In comparison, Apple Music and Amazon Music subscribers are the next two competitors with 60 million for Apple and 55 million for Amazon. Personally, these numbers don't really surprise me as most of my friends and family are Spotify users. Yet, as a loyal Apple Music listener, I have to put my bias aside and agree with the facts in front of me.
ReplyDeleteSpotify's starting price offers a free subscription that would include ads after every 5 to 6 songs. This already gives users the option to listen to music on Spotify without having to pay a fee, which a lot of other streamers don’t offer. At the end of each year, Spotify releases the statistics of each user that lists the top songs and artists they have listened to. On top of this, Spotify's music is specifically catered to each user individually so they can get suggestions to what songs they might like. Apple Music's radio station also curates’ music that is created around the user's music range, however there's isn't advertised as much as Spotify’s. According to TomsGuide, “One of Spotify's clearest wins is its wealth of social sharing features.” Spotify allows you to share music through stories on Instagram and Facebook, links to friends on snapchat and QR-like codes to share over text messaging. Spotify’s streaming options can also be heard through smart watches like Fitbit, Apple, Samsung, and Google Wear OS - which makes it more accessible to many more users. I think that if Spotify keeps offering these influential extensions, their loyal fan base will help them stand out long term against competitors and help them win the “music streaming wars.”
There are still however big threats and issues facing all music streamers today. For starters, the artists who produce music solely on streaming platforms don't make as much money as you would think. For example, for each dollar of revenue Spotify earns, 58.5 cents go to the owner of a song’s sound recording and Spotify keeps 29.38 cents (Andrews, 20220). This means that when songs are played on Spotify, artists only make between $0.0033 and $0.0054 every time. Apple Music stands slightly higher with a pay-rate of $0.01. This has caused certain artists to walk away completely or go to a different streamer. Also, trying to attract consumers in Gen Z has been an issue. According to Bloomberg, “The very services that brought millions of media consumers onto the internet and redefined culture are now confronting the challenge of middle age.” Moving forward, streaming services are going to have to provide a platform where Gen Z feels they can relate to it. This can help grow their audience and attract a different demographic.
Work Cited:
Andrews, T. M. (2022, February 23). Spotify backlash offers rare insight into reeling music industry - and struggles of working musicians. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/02/14/spotify-young-rogan-music-industry/
Bloomberg. (n.d.). Spotify has a Gen Z Problem? Or Is It an Opportunity? . Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-19/spotify-has-a-gen-z-problem-here-s-how-it-s-learning-from-tiktok
Casey, H. T. (2022, January 31). Apple Music vs. Spotify: Which is the best music app? Tom's Guide. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.tomsguide.com/face-off/apple-music-vs-spotify-which-is-the-best-music-app
How many users do Spotify, Apple Music and streaming services have? (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://musically.com/2022/02/03/spotify-apple-how-many-users-big-music-streaming-services/
Madison Bopp
ReplyDeleteThe “music streaming wars” have been a competitive industry in recent years. When we talk about music streaming services we tend to think of Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Number wise, Spotify is winning this so-called streaming war among music services. They have emerged as the largest player with more than 400 million monthly users at the end of 2021 (Andrews, 2022). Andrews writes that a number such as this would appear to be potentially profitable for both musicians and record labels (2022). Many involved with the industry say streaming brings back value to music overall.
So why is Spotify essentially the best? The answer is in the app itself and the variation it offers. With a library of over 40 million songs and a massive number of playlists, Spotify offers everything and more than their competitors (Bibbiani, 2019). With its huge investment into the podcast industry, the platform is looking to become the one stop shop for all things music and audio (Bibbiani, 2019). The app has its own algorithm system that helps personalize the overall user experience of listening and discovering new music (2019). Additionally, Spotify’s ‘Discover Weekly’ playlist is an original feature and is immensely popular and is refreshed every Monday with 30 new songs (Bibbiani, 2019).
This being said I do believe Spotify will be able to remain on top of their competitors. I say this because of the record statistics Spotify continues to break. Spotify is known to be the most popular paid audio service in the world (Shaw, 2021). Spotify has great long-term strategies to continue adding millions of customers each year. One of these ideas includes trying to attract more Generation Z listeners (Shaw, 2021). Shaw writes that when it comes to audio and younger audiences, Spotify is already ahead of its direct competitors (2021). Spotify sees focusing on Generation Z could present successful opportunities for the company. Newer companies such as TikTok, whose demographic is largely Generation Z, are threatening music streaming giants. Spotify is continually trying to test new options to help growth their number of monthly music listeners.
This leads to the biggest issues all music streamers are facing today. Streaming services have increased the reach to music and promoted a huge benefit to fans and music lovers (Andrews, 2022). However, Andrews writes that the return for the artists and songwriters trying to make a living has not yet caught up (2022). It is known that it takes a while to reach a dollar of revenue. On Spotify, artists are paid between $0.0033 and $0.0054 every time their song is played on the app (Andrews, 2022). For each dollar of revenue Spotify earns they keep 29.38 cents (Andrews, 2022).
Madison Bopp
DeleteAs someone who would like to work within the music industry, I do fear some of these big issues. I personally use Spotify and see them continuing to be the top competitor. Yet, I do have concerns about how artists are being compensated. The music industry has seen a large boom thanks to streaming services, however now they must pay it back in return.
References:
Andrews, T. M. (2022, February 14). Spotify backlash offers rare insight into reeling music industry - and struggles of working musicians. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/02/14/spotify-young-rogan-music-industry/
Bibbiani, T. (2019, December 3). Why Spotify is the outright Best Music Streaming App. Glance. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://thisisglance.com/why-spotify-is-the-outright-best-music-streaming-app/
Shaw, L. (2021, December 19). Spotify Has a Gen Z Problem. Or Is It an Opportunity? Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-19/spotify-has-a-gen-z-problem-here-s-how-it-s-learning-from-tiktok
Kylie Jenkins Part 1
ReplyDeleteBeing a huge music fan, I couldn’t imagine life without a music streaming platform. I have been a loyal die-hard Spotify premium subscriber since I was in middle school, and I will never switch platforms. When I was in middle school, I personally don’t remember any other music platforms offering a premium subscription like Spotify did. Nowadays, there are a plethora of music streaming platforms, enough for there to even be a “music streaming war”. I think that Spotify is winning the music streaming wars. According to an article from Music:)ally, “At the end of 2021, Spotify had 406 million monthly active users, including 180 million premium subscribers and 226 million ad-supported (i.e. free) listeners”(Music:)ally), and the other big competing music streaming platform, Apple Music, had 60 million subscribers as of 2019, although it is only fair to assume that those numbers have grown over the past few years. Numbers are not always the only indicator of popularity though, because “Chinese firm Tencent Music has three different music streaming services – QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo – and at the end of September 2021, it had 636 million mobile monthly active users of those services, including 71.2 million ‘paying users’ – that includes people buying music, as well as subscribing.(Music:)ally)”. Tencent Music has more users and subscribers than Apple Music and Spotify, but it is because they are based in China where there way more people than in the United States and other countries.
I think that Spotify will be able to remain on top. In an article from Bloomberg, “Spotify is the most popular paid audio service in the world, and continues to add tens of millions of customers a year”(Shaw). Spotify has proven to keep their loyal subscribers while still drawing in millions of new customers every year. Another reason that I believe Spotify will remain victorious in the streaming war is because of Tik Tok. The same Bloomberg article said that “the one app beloved by Gen Z is TikTok. Spotify has long seen TikTok as a friend and a funnel. People hear a song on TikTok and then go to Spotify to listen to the whole thing”(Shaw). Because Tik Tok and Spotify have an unwritten, unofficial bond, Spotify will continue to grow in popularity. While Apple Music is still very popular, they will never catch up to Spotify’s numbers.
Kylie Jenkins Part 2
DeleteOne of the biggest threats in this streaming war is the price. According to C|Net, “both Spotify and Apple Music offer a free three-month trial period for their premium services, which normally cost $10 (£10, AU$12) a month. It costs $5 for students, $15 for an Apple Music family plan or $16 for a Spotify family plan. You can stream any song from the catalog on demand, plus listen to songs offline.(Savvides)”. Because the prices are so similar, there is no real reason for a consumer to choose one over the other. Another threat to Spotify is the users from Generation Z. Objectively, Generation Z doesn’t listen to as many podcasts as the Millenials and Spotify is known for their wide variety of podcasts. Overall, despite these threats, I still think that Spotify will remain on top!
How Many Users Do Spotify, Apple Music and Streaming Services Have?, 3 Feb. 2022, https://musically.com/2022/02/03/spotify-apple-how-many-users-big-music-streaming-services/.
Savvides, Lexy. “Spotify vs. Apple Music: The Best Music Streaming Service Is...” CNET, CNET, 25 Sept. 2021, https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/apple-music-vs-spotify-comparing-the-music-streaming-giants-best-2021/.
Shaw, Lucas. “Spotify Has a Gen Z Problem. Or Is It an Opportunity?” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 19 Dec. 2021, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-19/spotify-has-a-gen-z-problem-here-s-how-it-s-learning-from-tiktok.
Elisa Leone
ReplyDeletePart 1
Unlike the “streaming wars,” the “music streaming wars” do not have many popular contenders in my eyes. The main music streaming services are Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, and possibly Pandora for the older crowd. There is plenty of other music streaming services like YouTube Music, Tidal, and even Amazon Music but personally, I want to focus on Apple Music and Spotify because they are the two most popular music streaming services amongst all demographics. I was an avid Apple Music user since 2015. About two years ago, I switched over to Spotify because of its features and how much more advanced its platform is. I instantly fell in love with Spotify’s layout and features. Spotify has different features like collaborative playlists, easy navigation, personalized radio stations, numerous podcasts, and great song and podcast recommendations. Spotify also has a free subscription feature which is why they have more subscribers as well. Because of these features and many others, I decided to stay a Spotify user on the student subscription plan. An article from Bloomberg states, “Spotify is the most popular paid audio service in the world and continues to add tens of millions of customers a year” (Shaw, 2021). Spotify deserves to be the top music streaming platform because of its features and platform layout. Apple Music does not have nearly as many features as Spotify, so it does make sense why Spotify has the most subscribers. I think Spotify will remain on top if Apple Music does not change its current strategy.
Apple Music and other music streaming services are active competitors in the music streaming wars but need to step up their game if they want to compete with Spotify. Apple Music had the feature that if you bought music on the Apple music store it would transfer your music to your Apple music library. Since the decline of the Apple music store, Apple Music has gone down as well because customers would rather pay a monthly subscription fee rather than a fee every time they wanted to listen to a song. Spotify and Apple Music both have the same subscription prices and plans besides the free plan that Spotify offers. If Apple Music offered this free subscription plan, then they might gain more subscribers. Cnet mentions that Apple Music also is more compatible with Apple products, but Spotify is basically at the same level of compatibleness. Apple Music is more compatible with Siri and Spotify is more compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Smart speakers, Xbox, and PlayStation (Orellana, 2021). SoundCloud is also in the running for most subscribers. Music:)Ally writes, “SoundCloud’s advertising site used to say that “each month, we also reach more than 175 million global users”’ (Dredge, 2022). SoundCloud is more of a platform for remixes and freestyle music as well as ‘unreleased’ music from various artists. This is platform enables its users to upload, promote, and share their audio amongst all users. This platform catches a different demographics than other platforms because of its purpose.
Elisa Leone
DeletePart 2
I think the biggest threat to music streaming services is TikTok. I believe this because songs will receive more recognition on TikTok than on any other music platform. TikTok is a huge reason that artists receive recognition for their music because of how quickly a song or trend can go viral. This is an issue because it forces artists to try to promote their music on TikTok instead of releasing it to an actual music streaming platform. This is a problem for the big music platforms because then if this song originally does well on TikTok then the money will not be going to the music platform.
Overall, I believe that Spotify will remain on top because of its features and advancements in its content. I really don’t think that they have much to worry about besides TikTok because they have a large audience and offers features and incentives that other music streaming services do not.
Work Cited
Bloomberg. (n.d.). Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-19/spotify-has-a-gen-z-problem-here-s-how-it-s-learning-from-tiktok
How many users do Spotify, Apple Music and streaming services have? (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://musically.com/2022/02/03/spotify-apple-how-many-users-big-music-streaming-services/
Savvides, L. (2021, September 25). Spotify vs. Apple Music: The best music streaming service is... CNET. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/apple-music-vs-spotify-comparing-the-music-streaming-giants-best-2021/
Lachie Harvey
ReplyDeletePt. 1
Music streaming is a very interesting industry. There are a few reasons for this. First is the distribution of the largest subscription based music companies involved. While some industries, namely the television streaming industry, are extremely top heavy with next to no opportunity for anything outside of the top 5 options, the music industry has a bit more of a sporadic layout. This is in no way saying the industry isn’t still top heavy. It absolutely is. According to an article by Musically, Spotify controls around 32% of the paid music streaming industry. However, after this, the percentage of the largest player’s shares drops drastically. 16% (Apple Music), 13% (Amazon music) and 13% (Tencent) are the next three largest shares. This leaves around 26% of the market share for the remaining paid services. This is a far larger window than many industries. Some of the minor companies that fit into this 26% have a legitimate chance to become successful businesses in the streaming industry. The reason for this is the second interesting part about the music streaming industry, consumers only use one of these products. Barring extremely rare cases, music users only require a single platform to satisfy all their music related needs. As time goes by users will remain loyal to their given platform as they need it to track all of their favorite music. So, if small platforms like Deezer can get access to the same streaming library, they can function successfully, albeit on a smaller scale than the giants like Spotify and Apple. Deezer has already taken steps to ensure this, according to Weraveyou.com, Weezer already had 16 million subscribers as of July 2020. Assuming they were able to at least maintain their clientele, due to their continued operation, the service would already be a success and a great example for future companies looking to enter the industry.
Lachie Harvey
DeletePt. 2
But where the music streaming industry gets even more odd, is that none of these companies holds a candle to the real giant of music streaming, YouTube. According to Musically, YouTube only has 50 million paid subscribers. This is 130 million less than Spotify. However, YouTube has 2 billion unpaid users who stream their music on the platform. That is over a quarter of the world’s population. It is almost impossible for competitors to tap into this market. Only Tencent comes close to it’s scale, due to its monopoly on the very large Chinese market. YouTube is one of the most recognizable companies on the planet and has influence in locations where no other music companies are known. As long as YouTube is free, millions of people will never pay for their music. So which company is winning the streaming war? Technically Spotify, but YouTube still makes it look measly. The long-term strategies of these companies should be to keep doing what they are doing, they’re succeeding, no need to change what isn’t broken. And currently, the only two threats to music streamers are other music streamers and YouTube.
Dredge, S. (2022, February 3) How Many Users Do Spotify, Apple Music and Other Streaming Services Have?. Musically. Retrieved 7th March from https://musically.com/2022/02/03/spotify-apple-how-many-users-big-music-streaming-services/
Dov. Y. (2020, July 25) Deezer: the next music streaming giant? We Rave You. Retrieved 7th March from https://weraveyou.com/2020/07/deezer-the-next-music-streaming-giant/