Comments on: iTunes and Spotify

By: Lasse Enersen

Lasse Enersen — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:57:45 +0000

Spotify = User doesn’t want to own the music
iTunes = User wants to own the music
I think that these are two widely different markets. Two different sorts of people. Two different Whole Product Universes. How could a radio station compete with a record store (that makes portable players), or vice versa. Sure, they have an effect on others markets, but I think that it doesn’t overlap as much that is usually thought.

By: Fredrik Olsson

Fredrik Olsson — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:48:13 +0000

With iTunes dropping DRM the argument of iPod lockin become void.
Sure enough automatic sync only works with iPod, but the files are on disk in standard mpeg4 audio. So any user who already manually copies files to his device have support. Likewice any other player with it’s own sync software could just as easy copy the files from itunes’s music folder.
Therefor I argue that only the failure of iTunes can be beneficial for spotify in the term of the next years. Best option would probably be to provide spotify access in iTunes as a plug-in, Apple has bought promising techs before. Not web iTunes itself was started by Apple.

By: Carl Byström

Carl Byström — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:28:08 +0000

Sure, that certainly is one approach Spotify could take, providing downloads instead of a service. But their only threat right now is Last.fm. Even that service isn’t available in all countries (Sweden is one of them). They are to some extent suffering from the same problems as Spotify.
Unless Apple launches a similar service to Spotify, I think they have a card that, if played right, can turn them into winners.
Record companies seem to be jumping ship from the old plastic sales and perhaps they are finally opening their eyes for alternative sources of income, i.e Spotify-alikes. Even if Spotify wouldn’t become the sole suppliers of a service like this they certainly have the opportunity of becoming the biggest. Just as pioneers in new lines of business do (think Flickr).
Being first out often allows one to set the stage too. People at Spotify aren’t morons and birds have whispered in my ear that new ways of integrating with the service are coming.
I need this concept to succeed! I’m tired of managing my old MP3 collection like it was 1997 :)
MaaS FTW!

By: Brynn Evans

Brynn Evans — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:32:58 +0000

Can’t the same argument be made for Songbird if they’re able to nail a few content deals? There are lots of non-Apple media devices that need access to content and to decent players… clearly Spotify has something of an advantage with the model that you never “own” music — but the requirement of both a connection, and a European address — is something of a buzzkill…

By: Jyri Engestrom

Jyri Engestrom — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:41:04 +0000

Carl, you just earned yourself a Jaiku invite.

By: Carl Byström

Carl Byström — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:38:25 +0000

In absence of a Jaiku account, I’ll post my 2 cents of worth here.
Spotify really needs to start exploiting their position as a MaaS (Music as a Service). As Mr Ek says himself, they provide the “social objects” for other people and services to use. Absolutely great freaking idea! MaaS is here to stay. It will be the way to consume music (on stationary devices, for now). Other providers will follow, believe me!
Even though they’re the underdog, competing with big players such as Last.fm and iTunes. I haven’t seen anything yet that can exploit the fact they’re offering “social objects” (Spotify URIs aside). Last.fm is a closed music community that are keeping their music and members for themselves, and probably for good reasons. The same goes for iTunes. Apple actually _hates_ openness. Until today, everything was DRM protected and integrating with them isn’t easy and some extent, quite pointless.
I know you are working hard on integrating with the rest of the internet. But please, please Spotify, I beg you, release your APIs now. I’d love to see third party sites exploiting what the web is all about – integration! Give me that XMPP feed, open up your desktop client, let me modify my playlists through REST and allow me to use the browser to search your database.
It’s the integration that _will_ make or break Spotify. Their approach is different from all other major players. Guess iPhone support is included in this too :)