Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B • Hacker News Board

Re: Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B

#71

Post by azemetre » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:51 PM UTC

synaesthesisx wrote: post #27

I do love Spotify as a product, however I don't think it will scale the same way Netflix does. Spotify is at the mercy of major record labels, and as their books become more transparent the record labels will squeeze every dollar they can for licensing. That is, unless they find a way to upend the record industry entirely. Spotify has a unique position with their amazing discovery/recommendations engine- they could p…

Spotify has many "session" recordings from a variety of artists, they also have live albums from concerts that aren't available anywhere else on the internet. Trust me, I've been scouring every dark corner of the net for a recording of Run The Jewels Sxsw 2015 concert to no avail.

Re: Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B

#72

Post by whatok » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:51 PM UTC

whitepoplar wrote: post #55

whatok wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how is anyone supposed to sift through all that garbage to find something worthwhile?

Discover Weekly

Who is listening to all of this self-published music to get training data for Discover Weekly?

Re: Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B

#73

Post by harshgupta » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:51 PM UTC

meritt wrote: post #49

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are blue apron and stitch fix tech companies? I thought they were just sending out boxes of stuff to subscribers, with a website/app for taking orders?

Is Spotify a tech company? I thought they were just sending an audio stream to subscribers with a website/app for searching?

Spotify is a tech company by all measures. Their core value propositions - recommendation engine, UI/UX, scaling responsive applications - those are pretty 'tech' problems.

Re: Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B

#74

Post by ChuckMcM » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:51 PM UTC

synaesthesisx wrote: post #27

I do love Spotify as a product, however I don't think it will scale the same way Netflix does. Spotify is at the mercy of major record labels, and as their books become more transparent the record labels will squeeze every dollar they can for licensing. That is, unless they find a way to upend the record industry entirely. Spotify has a unique position with their amazing discovery/recommendations engine- they could p…

> Spotify is at the mercy of major record labels

For now. They have a large enough reach to essentially "become" a major record label, all they need is to start signing artists to contracts.

Re: Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B

#75

Post by foobaw » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:51 PM UTC

Their product is a lot more powerful than Soundcloud's (even though the target users might slightly differ).

I really hope they have a solid roadmap and wish them the best.

Re: Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B

#76

Post by frenchie4111 » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:52 PM UTC

dublinben wrote: post #67

gm-conspiracy wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is alot easier (cost and effort) to start a band and put on album on Spotify, compared to creating a movie/tv show. Consumption is different, as well - several minutes at a time versus dedicated visual attention for a minimum of 22 minutes.

I suspect that the average paid Spotify user is actually listening for hours at a time, while they are working or driving. I don't think people are turning it on and off a few songs at a time.

I think the parent comment's point is that the smallest unit of attention is smaller for Spotify than Netflix

Re: Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B

#77

Post by wj » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:53 PM UTC

synaesthesisx wrote: post #27

I do love Spotify as a product, however I don't think it will scale the same way Netflix does. Spotify is at the mercy of major record labels, and as their books become more transparent the record labels will squeeze every dollar they can for licensing. That is, unless they find a way to upend the record industry entirely. Spotify has a unique position with their amazing discovery/recommendations engine- they could p…

I agree they should sign exclusive deals with artists which would give them leverage in their negotiations with the record labels with an eye on the long-term hope of breaking that reliance on them.

They won't be able to get into concert tickets at the present time in any significant way due to the exclusive agreements between Ticketmaster and venues. Though maybe the could start with some smaller acts and venues and work their way up.

Live performances is where the money is for the artists which is why record labels are now signing acts up for complete deals which include not just the music rights but the concert and merch rights as well.

Edit: as somebody who has tried to buy tickets to a hot show on Ticketmaster the second they go on sale and watched the servers melt, it is Amazon that I would like to see get in the ticket game.

Re: Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B

#78

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:53 PM UTC

harshgupta wrote: post #73

meritt wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Spotify a tech company? I thought they were just sending an audio stream to subscribers with a website/app for searching?

Spotify is a tech company by all measures. Their core value propositions - recommendation engine, UI/UX, scaling responsive applications - those are pretty 'tech' problems.

[deleted]

Re: Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B

#79

Post by rafiki6 » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:53 PM UTC

synaesthesisx wrote: post #27

I do love Spotify as a product, however I don't think it will scale the same way Netflix does. Spotify is at the mercy of major record labels, and as their books become more transparent the record labels will squeeze every dollar they can for licensing. That is, unless they find a way to upend the record industry entirely. Spotify has a unique position with their amazing discovery/recommendations engine- they could p…

Soon enough Spotify will become the record label. All a record label does is, produce, promote and distribute. It's an antiquated model.

Re: Spotify opens on NYSE, valuing company at almost $30B

#80

Post by swypych » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:53 PM UTC

guelo wrote: post #23

I just don't see how this can be a successful company long term. If the labels see any profit they will demand more fees at the next deal negotiation. To become music's Netflix they would have to produce their own music which people want to listen to, which is a lot easier said then done. The easiest route is probably to become Tidal and give the company away to a few big artists in exchange for exclusives.

I would not be surprised if the long term goal is to not just produce but to be THE market place for all music. They already promote tickets to concerts, why stop at promotion, they could easily displace ticketmaster, and with ticketmasters lack of goodwill I am sure lots of people would be happy for this to happen.