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Spotify Form F-1

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121–130 of 382 posts

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#121
post #100

I am a huge huge music fan and meanwhile I tried most music services. I had Spotify for a while too. But nowadays I prefer to use smaller sites like http://www.bandcamp.com and the sites of small labels. For discovery I use http://www.gnoosic.com an AI recommender created by a fellow HN member. For me, music consumption feels more adventurous this way.

I do the same thing.

But 90% of my listening time is spotify, because I no longer really keep a personal library outside of spotify.

I download files off bandcamp, and upload them to spotify

and Music-map.com (gnoosic) is amazing. I didn't think it was AI though? I thought it was just simple: if you like this, other people who liked this, liked that.

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#122

I really hope Spotify succeeds. I've mentioned this before on Hacker News, but as an artist, the algorithmic playlists are amazing. On a good week I get ~4,000 new listeners. It's incredible. Discovery Weekly drives the most but Release Radar and Radio also send a good chunk. Apple Music on the hand hasn't even verified my artist profile— which I need in order to view analytics. So I don't even know if people listen…

For me it has to be Apple music because of library. AM has so many Indian songs (90s) library than Spotify. Otherwise the UI and app are awful with AM

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#123
post #59

I really hope Spotify succeeds. I've mentioned this before on Hacker News, but as an artist, the algorithmic playlists are amazing. On a good week I get ~4,000 new listeners. It's incredible. Discovery Weekly drives the most but Release Radar and Radio also send a good chunk. Apple Music on the hand hasn't even verified my artist profile— which I need in order to view analytics. So I don't even know if people listen…

I've said it before, but Spotify is the single most valuable subscription service I pay for. Video streaming is convenient, but some of the music I've come across on Spotify has literally changed my life and that would never have happened if I was still forced to torrent everything. It's just so easy, it's everything they said the steaming model would be.

soundcloud and youtube are sooooo much better.. Glad u found some hot tracks on Spotify but mannnnnn that is like the facebook of music

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#125
Spotify stock is going to get crushed. you think the powerful investments banks of wall street will let someone go around them and not make an example of the stock? If everyone did this and gets encouragement from Spotify - its serious bucks that wall street looses. It may work in the future, but Bold Spotify and its shareholders will pay the price...

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#126
post #3

By far the most interesting part of this is that they are doing a direct listing. There is no IPO underwriter (the bankers that the HN audience loves to bash). The shares will just start trading, pricing should be fun to watch. Update: This nugget from the F-1 [1] alludes to the interesting to watch pricing > Moreover, prior to the opening trade, there will not be a price at which underwriters initially sold ordinary…

Per a WSJ article in January, Spotify has retained investment bankers (reportedly paying them $30MM) to help ascertain interest from large institutional investors, tell the investment story, et cetera. Given that, I imagine that they will advise the company and its pre-IPO shareholders on an indicative price or price range. Also, I would be hard pressed to imagine that they would not nominate a stabilization agent to…

The F-1 tells the full story:

> As this listing is taking place via a novel process that is not an underwritten initial public offering, there will be no book building process and no price at which underwriters initially sold shares to the public to help inform efficient price discovery with respect to the opening trades on the NYSE. Pursuant to NYSE Rules, we have engaged Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (“Morgan Stanley”) as a financial advisor to be available to consult with the designated market maker (the “DMM”) in setting the opening public price of our ordinary shares on the NYSE.

Morgan Stanley will be involved to help set the price with the market maker (sounds normal), but:

> However, because Morgan Stanley will not have engaged in a book building process, they will not be able to provide input to the DMM that is based on or informed by that process. Moreover, prior to the opening trade, there will not be a price at which underwriters initially sold ordinary shares to the public as there would be in an underwritten initial public offering.

So they didn't get hired to do a road show and won't have interest from institutional investors. As for having a stabilization agent? It sure doesn't sound like it:

> This lack of an initial public offering price could impact the range of buy and sell orders collected by the NYSE from various broker-dealers. Consequently, the public price of our ordinary shares may be more volatile than in an underwritten initial public offering and could, upon listing on the NYSE, decline significantly and rapidly.

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#127
post #59

I really hope Spotify succeeds. I've mentioned this before on Hacker News, but as an artist, the algorithmic playlists are amazing. On a good week I get ~4,000 new listeners. It's incredible. Discovery Weekly drives the most but Release Radar and Radio also send a good chunk. Apple Music on the hand hasn't even verified my artist profile— which I need in order to view analytics. So I don't even know if people listen…

I've said it before, but Spotify is the single most valuable subscription service I pay for. Video streaming is convenient, but some of the music I've come across on Spotify has literally changed my life and that would never have happened if I was still forced to torrent everything. It's just so easy, it's everything they said the steaming model would be.

Thing is, you still need to support smaller artists buy buying physical or going to live events. Spotify pays very close to nothing to small acts.

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even I hope so. Discover Weekly and their curated playlists are some of the best I have seen across all music services. Even their cross platform support is the best. Play Music has a terrible app and web UI. Even Apple Music doesn't fare any better.

Google Play Music is the best deal out there - ad-free Youtube TV is bundled in the plan and allows you to upload your own music that you can stream from anywhere. That said, it's the absolute worst in terms of UI and cross platform support. I kept switching between subscriptions because Spotify still doesn't allow uploads (which I really need). But gave up on everyone and decided to just sync my personal music to my…

>ad-free Youtube TV is bundled in the plan

Only in US.

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#129

Huh, their operations have been turning out cash since 2016 ( page 11 ). Curious what they got for their €400 million of 2017 R&D spend ( page 10 ).

They might have bundled the compensation of their engineering team in that.

Agree probably mostly related to labour.

But further, could IP and acquisitions be split out and components attributed to this?

They file plenty of patents, and acquisition of entities such as Soundtrap could possibly have elements allocated to R&D. Is this standard/recommended practice?

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#130
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might have already known this but Spotify had the same $5/mo student discount but they may be more diligent about checking your enrollment. Def loved the 5 dollar plan :)

And it now comes with Hulu for free! (At least in the US)

It comes with Headspace free in the UK curiously enough
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