Live data from Hacker News

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

techcrunch.com

251–260 of 479 posts

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

#251

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…

It's funny that you described it as less scalable, but proceeded to detail many great ways for the company to scale. Great ideas all around.

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

#252

And in Sweden, home of Spotify, the other big news is that NYSE raised Switzerland's flag. https://www.thelocal.se/20180403/spotify-swiss-or-swedish-wh...

Mistaking Switzerland for Denmark is understandable, mistaking Switzerland for Sweden is just wrong.

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

#253
post #5

Maybe my perception is off, but it seems like we're getting lots of tech IPO's in a relatively short time. Stitch Fix, Dropbox, Blue Apron, Snap, and Roku to name a few. For a long time we weren't seeing too many big tech IPO's. Did something fundamentally change in the market to lead to this, or did all these companies just happen to make it to "market maturity" around the same time?

Getting in quick while they can. Surviving a 5 year down turn on borrowed money is challenging.

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

#255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm as bearish as you are bullish. Spotify is getting squeezed with record labels on one side and Google/Apple (now at 38M subs compared to Spotifys 71M subs) on the other. I also do not think the Spotify situation is anything like Netflix. First, Netflix is an add-on service for most people that compliments other video services. OTOH, few people will have multiple music streaming services. This leads to a few issues…

The old ways are going away. Where is the relevance of the label system now that producers can master and release tracks directly digital with no pressing time at all? Gucci Mane is great example of a hugely popular artist who released track after track as fast as he could grind them out, for years (decades now! go count how many mixtapes the guy has made). This is the new normal, hyper creativity and high speed prod…

Labels control the back catalogs, other than that I agree with you that the old ways are changing. The problem is nothing you said gives Spotify some unique advantage over Apple on the streaming side or something like cdbaby on the publishing side. Spotify can't just be some 'small' label and survive, and I'm also not sure what artist only wants to be on Spotify.

Music streaming has been completely commoditized. It's an add on feature to both major phone software makers. What can Spotify uniquely bring to the table that will give it the money to survive?

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

#256
post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Starting their own label is exactly what they need to do to remain competitive. It's exactly what Netflix ended up doing and I think it's turning out pretty well for them. I wouldn't be surprised if Spotify tried poaching higher-level strategy people from Netflix.

>"Starting their own label is exactly what they need to do to remain competitive. It's exactly what Netflix ended up doing and I think it's turning out pretty well for them." This seems to be a common refrain that Spotify can just "pull a Netflix." And this is very unlikely. Firstly no matter how much opriginal content they could create, if they don't have back catalog it's going to be a total non-starter for the mai…

> A streaming service that has no Beatles, Pink Floyd, No Motown, No AC/DC etc is going to shed users pretty quickly.

I could mangage quite well without all these.

Just one datapoint but...

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

#257
post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Starting their own label is exactly what they need to do to remain competitive. It's exactly what Netflix ended up doing and I think it's turning out pretty well for them. I wouldn't be surprised if Spotify tried poaching higher-level strategy people from Netflix.

>"Starting their own label is exactly what they need to do to remain competitive. It's exactly what Netflix ended up doing and I think it's turning out pretty well for them." This seems to be a common refrain that Spotify can just "pull a Netflix." And this is very unlikely. Firstly no matter how much opriginal content they could create, if they don't have back catalog it's going to be a total non-starter for the mai…

The same reasoning would also have applied to Netflix when it was a younger company, though (i.e. back catalog, staying in the good graces of licensors, etc.).

Tidal has already been doing most of the stuff people are proposing here. It's a controversial topic but I don't think there is good evidence that music streaming services, from a business standpoint, shouldn't also be in the business of producing or sponsoring musicians.

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

#258
post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Starting their own label is exactly what they need to do to remain competitive. It's exactly what Netflix ended up doing and I think it's turning out pretty well for them. I wouldn't be surprised if Spotify tried poaching higher-level strategy people from Netflix.

>"Starting their own label is exactly what they need to do to remain competitive. It's exactly what Netflix ended up doing and I think it's turning out pretty well for them." This seems to be a common refrain that Spotify can just "pull a Netflix." And this is very unlikely. Firstly no matter how much opriginal content they could create, if they don't have back catalog it's going to be a total non-starter for the mai…

Spotify should not "pull a Netflix". Spotify should "pull a Bandcamp".

Rather, Bandcamp should start a streaming service. I've had a payment model in my pocket for years that I think would work really well for them.

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

#259
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix could be in the same position. With Disney launching their own streaming services next year, the situation could get dire for Netflix, too, if Netflix' own productions don't take off as much as they want.

It's very doubtful that Disney is or could be an serious issue for Netflix now. Netflix is approaching - or already larger than - the size of Disney's comparable entertainment business, and Netflix is growing relatively fast whereas Disney's business isn't growing much or at all. Disney's studio division does $8.3 billion in sales. Their media networks arm, which includes ABC & ESPN, does $23 billion. Netflix will hi…

Disney's revenue for 2017 was $55 billion. You can't take Disney Studio revenue in isolation.

Disney movies are just the top of the funnel that feeds revenue into their theme parks, dvd sales, television stations, and soon their streaming service.

By the time a movie gets to their streaming service, it has already made millions from the theatrical release. By the time a TV show gets there, it's already made money from advertising on TV. The streaming service doesn't have to find its own content or buy it from someone else like Netflix does.

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

#260

And in Sweden, home of Spotify, the other big news is that NYSE raised Switzerland's flag. https://www.thelocal.se/20180403/spotify-swiss-or-swedish-wh...

They're basically the same country right? I mean their flags are both crosses and their names both start with Sw...

/s

Post reply on HN