Why Spotify’s “Grand Strategy” Will Fail

Audio Editing by Donovan Bullen
Editing by José Gámez
Motion Graphics by Vincent de Langen
Writing, Thumbnail Design, and Direction by Evan

This includes a paid sponsorship which had no part in the writing, editing, or production of the rest of the video.

With video from Getty Images
With video from Reuters
With maps provided by MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors and GEOlayers 3

Disclaimer: PolyMatter is available on Spotify. We have no special relationship with the company and have thus far earned a total of $4.75 from the platform. That said, it only feels right to let you know that we technically have a (very small) financial interest in the company. Audible, an audiobook competitor, has sponsored videos from this channel in the past. Skillshare, which has partnered with Spotify for its learning courses, has also sponsored this channel. Finally, nothing in this video is intended as investment advice.

[JoshChristiane]

We are living in a weird in-between age where Software companies can be worth billions and never post a profit.

[eyevou]

"hours" isn't a good way to market audiobooks. I would rather pick a single book to add from a library for free listening on the go each month than worry about "hours". i never touch their books section because of this.

[gruffysnuggles]

With the recent DOJ suit against Live Nation, I can 100% see Spotify jumping at the opportunity of becoming a ticketing site. It already has the "live events" feature that would seamlessly tie in with top artists, provided they give a marginally better deal than what Live Nation does, which is not hard to do at the minute.

[SpektralJo]

The problem is the insane power lables have, not only over Spotify but artists as well

[PatMeizzner]

maybe add a tier system so I could CHOOSE to listen audiobooks and podcast and or just a music

[FullLengthInterstates]

Artists pulling content has been incredibly tragic. Whatever their reason, audio streaming as a whole will suffer. As more of the music in my "library" gets greyed out, I become more interested in returning to the offline library that I have full control over.

[caniblmolstr]

All Spotify needs to do is become a music label

[andreylucass]

Apple, Google and Amazon are trillion dollar companies that don't depend exclusively on streaming revenue. Those three will eventuality buy Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Qobuz etc.

[MrWesleyDP]

The Audio book thing is batshit crazy. Who thinks of a book in terms of listening time instead of ...ya know the book?

[EngineeredFemale]

Just on time when Spotify cancelled car thing lmao

[liquidiced]

@12:50, that lane change was durrttyy

[King_Gamer_st]

Brilliant timing considering the "Car Thing" thing

[generichoileader]

With them canceling the car thing, I don't think anyone is going to trust any future tech that they make.

[KC-Mitch]

Most audiobooks are already free. It’s called your local library. You can only check out a few per month, but unlike movies and music, they take so long to finish that it really isn’t a problem for most people.

[mthun]

It's nice to see polymatter back with a technology related video again.

[amusik]

Me and my friend went to a music business school years before Spotify or any streaming existed and we came up with the concept because we saw smart phones making it possible. We worked on the business plan for months but there was no way we could ever make the math work so that it would be a profitable business and so that artists could earn a living from it so we never pursued it. It’s hilarious that Spotify to this date has never turned a profit. But I was wrong about the utility of it - Spotify has increased the revenues of the industry and brought it back in that sense even though it keeps on losing money.

[BD-lqid]

the future will be introducing fan subscriber service. Similar to patreon, twitch subs, "join" on youtube. Spotify will introduce the ability to directly subscribe/support to favorite artists for a monthly cost with a portion going to the artist/label and a portion going to spotify for facilitating. The industry has been talking about this now for a bit.

[chad]

As a user of Spotify, I appreciate music, podcasts, and audiobooks being in one spot. I left Apple Music for Spotify back in like 2016. Tried out Apple Podcasts around 2018-2019 but stuck to podcasts on Spotify. Left Audible for Spotify audiobooks. I'm sure not everyone is like me, but I find it very convenient to listen to everything on Spotify. With that being said, it is annoying having that hard-stops on audiobooks. When I hit the limit, I listen to informational podcasts...or just read a physical book from my shelf or the library lol.

[-Rishikesh]

Spotify should have started its own label company in its peak. That way you are vertical integrating and not dependent on others.
It can even start today, lookout for real talent and spend money on them. Because if they do click and make it big, atleast they would have some brand loyality, untill unless spotify screws them over..

[kerapetsedireko]

I think they missed out on an opportunity to be the brand people think about when they get wireless headphones.