[Asdfbla]

Didn't record labels complain some time ago that Spotify had supposedly commissioned music for its instrumental playlists (presumably to save money on royalties)?

There's probably a danger that large record labels will threaten to revoke their licensing agreements if they think that Spotify may start competing with them on that front. Not sure if that will be a problem, though, I'm not familiar with the whole streaming market.

[ohf]

I'd wager that Spotify is nearing the point at which - if not already there - record labels cannot afford to revoke their license. If they can get away with it, they'll try to push some buttons, but I doubt a full confrontation.

If there's any evidence against this, please let me know. I think it's interesting.

[wilsonnb]

Spotify's market share is currently being attacked on both ends.

Apple Music is supposedly set to surpass Spotify in number of paid subscribers this summer.

Youtube has always had more free listeners than Spotify, as far as I know.

It's not at all clear who the major players in the music streaming business will be five years from now, which means that all of the power remains with the owners of the music that people want to listen to. AKA the major record labels.

[rofrol]

>Apple Music is supposedly set to surpass Spotify in number of paid subscribers this summer.

Where did you get this info? Look at the graph

https://www.statista.com/chart/8399/spotify-apple-music-paid...

[hetspookjee]

YouTube being insanely slow with rolling out Red doesn't help YouTube their business. I really wanted YouTube to have Red in Europe but they cant or won't so I moved over to Spotify because no ads and massive quality increase.

[fullshark]

I wonder what happened behind the scenes to get Taylor Swift on Spotify. I think that was a major test.

[antishatter]

http://www.swedishwire.com/jobs/680-record-labels-part-owner...

[ohf]

Ah, shit.

[toomuchtodo]

Spotify could then turn into a label + live music organizer, giving artists more of a cut and cutting out labels entirely.

[fspacef]

This. The money in the game doesn't come from just direct sales and hasn't for quite sometime. In the same vein an artist can get a million streams and still make >$5000. [1]

In recent years artists like Drake have started their own labels and collaborated directly with tour organizers to generate different sources of income and cut out middlemen. While it's difficult to imagine Spotify generating hit music at the same pace as Netflix produces hit shows, there is nothing stopping them from becoming a tour organizer or bringing artists to perform at their own show (hint: iTunes festival).

If they are really serious about the long term they would be developing new ways to experience "live" music. Perhaps VR concerts and performances or features that let the audience send feedback to the artists.

The good news is that they have shown they are not afraid of trying new things (ex: Video player within the playlist and the RapGenius tie ins).

Time will tell but I am bullish on Spotify changing how we listen to music for the better because the industry is ripe for a new disruption (Records -> CDs -> Digital -> ???)

[1] - https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/05/26/band-1-million-s...

[whatok]

> In recent years artists like Drake have started their own labels and collaborated directly with tour organizers to generate different sources of income and cut out middlemen.

Drake starting his own "label" is not a new innovation he came up with (rappers been doing that since the 90s) and still comes with just as many middlemen. Emphasis on last sentence in quote.

>During the composition of Nothing Was the Same, Drake started his own record label in late 2012 with producer Noah "40" Shebib, and business partner, Oliver El-Khatib. Drake sought for an avenue to release his own music, as well helping in the nurturing of other artists, while Shebib and El-Khatib yearned to start a label with a distinct sound, prompting the trio to team up to form OVO Sound.[297] The name is an abbreviation derived from the October's Very Own moniker Drake used to publish his earlier projects. The label is currently distributed by Warner Bros. Records.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_(musician)#OVO_Sound

[k_sh]

Generally, artist labels are for creative control, and distribution (along with most of the "business end") is left to a major.

See: G-Unit, OVO, GOOD Music, DFA Records, OWSLA...

[lallysingh]

It really depends on how much market share Spotify gets for being people's primary access to music. Wal Mart has (I think?) decent influence on the music industry over what CDs it will and won't sell.

[Zarath]

Yes. The one in particular I heard about was one of their ambient playlists, where an artist called "Deep Watch" (whom nobody had heard of previously) was supposedly placed into the playlist to avoid having to pay the artists that would otherwise take that place.