Spotify
Spotify Shares Jump 16% to All-Time High
On a related note, information about podcasts could have reinforced some investors’ belief that non-music content can improve both growth and margins. Spotify’s run-down of most popular music and podcasts revealed The Joe Rogan Experience, exclusive to Spotify as of Tuesday, is its top podcast. Its popularity suggests the controversial podcast is going to be worth the $100 million Spotify is spending to license the show from Rogan. Owned and licensed podcasts give Spotify a chance to differentiate itself from its competitors. In the last two years, Spotify has purchased podcast producers The Ringer, Gimlet and Parcast and has landed exclusives with Michele Obama and Kim Kardashian West, among many others. It has also launched proprietary, music-focused franchises such as Sound Stories: Wom...
Spotify is Testing an Instagram Stories-Like Feature In Editorial Playlists
There’s a running joke that soon every digital interface—from Instagram to Microsoft Excel—will offer some kind of stories-related social feature. However, it’s becoming less of an exaggeration by the day, as Spotify has drawn attention for its latest stories feature test. If you take a look at Spotify’s “Christmas Hits” playlist on a mobile device, you may be lucky enough to see the latest test of Spotify stories. The playlist, which currently boasts music from Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Trainor, and Kelly Clarkson, includes a reel of short clips from the artists akin to Snap and Instagram’s stories features. Spotify (via The Verge) In a statement to Engadget, the company confirmed that the availability of this feature is still limited in scope. &...
Streaming Symmetry: See the Countries Where Apple Music is Cheaper Than Spotify—and Vice Versa
CashNetUSA‘s personal finance blog SavingSpot recently published a study that highlights the difference in the cost of an Apple Music subscription between countries. Their data shows both the actual cost of the monthly subscription and also the relative cost which computes the subscription price as a percentage of the country’s average monthly income. As shown in the infographic below, India, China, and Turkey have the cheapest monthly subscription costs while listeners in Denmark, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have the highest costs. However, the ensuing charts—which compare the costs to monthly income—show that Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Macau pay the least while subscribers in Niger, Mozambique, and Madagascar pay the most when the cost is examined in t...
Radiohead, Elbow Members Call for Better Streaming Royalties at Opening of UK Parliament Probe
Garvey and Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien were among a group of four artists and two industry analysts that provided evidence on the first day of the inquiry, which is anticipated to stretch for several months and will call upon executives at major labels and streaming platforms to answer questions. The Parliament probe — which so far is being done with witnesses testifying virtually, as the U.K. is in lockdown — is also addressing a lack of transparency in record contracts and opaque accounting practices, safe harbor provisions and the European Copyright Directive, which will hold online user-generated services like YouTube liable for unlicensed content. The inquiry comes at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has decimated income from touring, focusing artists’ attenti...
Spotify for Artists Introduces Canvas Designer Marketplace via SoundBetter
Artists now have more custom options for Canvas video creation than ever before. Spotify For Artists just unveiled its latest feature that will make it easier than ever for artists to engage more with listeners. Canvas, the feature that allows artists to upload three to eight second visual clips that loop during playback of some Spotify releases, was just improved with the addition of the Canvas Designer Marketplace. The new feature is available through SoundBetter, the platform’s music production arm that allows artists to find studios, audio engineers, singers, and freelance music professionals. With the Canvas Designer Marketplace, users can now connect with visual artists to create custom Canvas visuals for their new releases. Those artists are experts at cr...
Spotify Is Changing The Way Their Algorithm Promotes Music: 3 Takeaways You Need to Know
Last week, Spotify announced a new “experiment” in which the streaming giant will allow artists the option to have their music boosted by the platform’s algorithm in exchange for a lower royalty pay rate. Here are three takeaways you need to know about how this move may impact listeners, artists, and the broader streaming business at large. Personalized listening experiences remain the company’s top priority. Spotify’s secret sauce is its algorithm, but with the company’s latest announcement, consumers fear it may become diluted. First, it’s important to note the experiment is limited in scope, with promotional boosts impacting only the Radio and Autoplay features of the site. If you don’t find yourself utilizing these features, yo...
Spotify Scoops Up Podcast Ad Platform Megaphone in $235M Acquisition
It is little surprise that Spotify is making another big acquisition in the podcast space, following big deals with companies like Gimlet, Anchor and Parcast in the past two years. Since the beginning of 2019, CEO Daniel Ek has referred to audio as the future of the company, envisioning a world where Spotify was less dependent on music — and the content costs of such music — to gain and retain users, listener hours and, ideally, subscribers. In the past two months, Spotify announced a partnership with Chernin Entertainment to provide a pathway for its podcasts to turn into film and TV projects, and, through its Anchor platform, now allows music to be embedded into its shows without further licensing requirements. In late October, the company announced in its third quarter earni...
Spotify Will Soon Allow Streaming from Apple Watch Without iPhone Nearby
Streaming giant Spotify is heavily favored among music fans, even those who stream via their Apple devices. The popular Apple Watch is a great tool for this purpose, but previously, the Spotify app did not allow streaming directly from the watch without an iPhone tethered. A new update will alleviate that inconvenience, as the Spotify app will now be usable directly from the Apple Watch without the need for an iPhone to be paired with the device. While the watch previously acted as more of a remote for the iPhone, its newer incarnations boast expanded functionality, including this Spotify update. Spotify Everywhere Users can now leave the iPhone behind when it comes to streaming from Spotify, making things especially convenient for those looking to play music during a run o...
Spotify Offering to Boost Artists’ Algorithm Placement in Exchange for Reduced Royalties
Just days after the Musician Workers Union launched their “Justice at Spotify” campaign to demand better royalty rates, the music streamer has announced a way to take more money from artists. Spotify has begun testing a new product called “Discovery Mode” that would boost a song’s algorithmic placement in exchange for lower royalties. Spotify has a pretty decent track record of recommendation through its Autoplay and Radio features, which automatically play music it thinks listeners may like based on a number of “signals” (time of day, tempo, song length, etc). Discovery Mode adds in the element of money, giving artists a chance to give an extra push to “music that’s a priority for them.” The trade off is a “promotional” (read: reduced) royalty rate. Essentially, when an artist has a song ...
Spotify to Offer Algorithm Visibility Boost in Exchange for Royalty Cut
A new blog post published by Spotify revealed that creators will now have the ability to boost their visibility in the platform’s radio and autoplay algorithms. The post, which was shared on the streaming giant’s website, detailed the “new experiment.” In this new experiment, artists and labels can identify music that’s a priority for them, and our system will add that signal to the algorithm that determines personalized listening sessions. This allows our algorithms to account for what’s important to the artist—perhaps a song they’re particularly excited about, an album anniversary they’re celebrating, a viral cultural moment they’re experiencing, or other factors they care about. As reported by FADER, Spotify will not require any upfront payment, b...
Musician Union Launches Campaign to Demand Cent-Per-Stream Payouts by Spotify
A faction of US musicians has launched a vigorous campaign called “Justice at Spotify,” calling for the streaming giant to remit penny-per-stream payouts to artists, among other demands. The United Musicians and Allied Workers Union (UMAW) is crusading for major changes to Spotify’s business model, which they contend is responsible for artists being “underpaid, misled, and otherwise exploited” by the company, according to the organization’s website. “As Spotify’s valuation soars, we have seen no increase in our streaming payments,” the site reads. “The company’s closed-door contracts and payola schemes ensure that only musicians already on top with extensive resources can succeed on the platform. As COVID 19 economically devastates...
UK Government Launches Investigation of Streaming Platforms’ Economic Impact on the Music Industry
The world’s music streaming platforms have often been a source of controversy and debate in the music industry. While many love the convenience they offer to listeners and the ability to reach markets easier than ever, many artists are facing economic and financial strife due to the low payout per stream. The United Kingdom’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee (DCMS) is aware of these issues and is now getting involved in a new investigation into streaming platforms’ economic impact on the music industry as a whole. On the DCMS Committee’s website, officials shared a statement highlighting the large revenue brought in by the companies and emphasized how small the portion actually paid to artists is. “With streaming currently accounting for more than ...
