Spotify

Spotify, a music-streaming platform founded in 2006 by Swedish entrepreneurs Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and launched in Stockholm, Sweden, in October 2008, is a streaming service that offers legitimate music and works with global record labels like Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI to ensure that the music it offers is legitimate.

Spotify uses a “free-to-pay” business model, where users can choose the free version of the service but see ads, while the paid version (Spotify Premium) offers features such as ad-free distractions, offline downloads, higher sound quality, and personalized recommendations. As of Quarter 1, 2021, Spotify has about 286 million monthly active users worldwide, 130 million of whom are paying users. In addition, Spotify also offers podcasts and audiobooks, further expanding its content library.

Spotify’s personalised recommendations feature uses sophisticated algorithms to analyse users’ listening history and preferences to recommend new music and podcasts. This personalised experience not only enhances users’ stickiness, but also their social interactions and sense of identity. Features such as Spotify’s “Discover Weekly” and “Spotify Wrapped”, for example, help users discover new music and put together personalised playlists of songs they have listened to over the past year.

Despite facing challenges from competitors such as Apple Music and Deezer, Spotify has maintained its leading position globally due to its large user base and market share.

Spotify not only changed the way music is consumed, but also revolutionized the entire music industry through innovative business models and technological means. It has become one of the world’s leading streaming music services by providing rich music resources, convenient user experience and powerful personalized recommender system.