Netflix has also set itself apart from its rivals in video streaming by spending billions on original programming such as “Stranger Things,” and “The Crown.” Analysts are worried that will be more difficult for Spotify to do because it is primarily negotiating for the same music streaming rights as Apple, Google and Amazon - companies that can afford to pay even more, if they want. Spotify has also made it clear that it intends to remain focused on adding more subscribers instead of making money for now. Unlike Netflix, Spotify still isn’t profitable, having lost more than 2.4 billion euros ($3 billion) since it started more than a decade ago. Spotify’s current chief financial officer, Barry McCarthy, held the same job when Netflix went public and remained in that position until leaving the video service in 2010. “The similarities here, we believe, are much greater than the differences,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney wrote in a recent research note assessing the parallels between Spotify and Netflix.īesides blending technology with a subscription model to reshape a popular form of entertainment, Spotify and Netflix have a common executive in their lineage. Spotify’s early lead in music streaming has drawn comparisons to Netflix, which built upon its pioneering role in DVD-by-mail rentals and then video streaming to create a hugely successful, subscription-driven franchise that has produced spectacular returns for the company’s investors.Ī $10,000 investment in Netflix’s 2002 initial public stock offering would now be worth more than $2.6 million, leaving some investors wondering if Spotify might be on a similar trajectory in music streaming. A list of other formidable competitors that includes Google and Amazon also offer similar music streaming services, raising the specter of Spotify being wiped out by far richer rivals. Spotify has struck a chord with 71 million worldwide subscribers so far and is aiming to increase that number to as many as 96 million subscribers by the end of the year.īy comparison, Apple’s nearly 3-year-old music streaming service has 38 million subscribers. “Nothing ever happens in a straight line - the past ten years have certainly taught me that.”Įk, in an effort to keep the IPO somewhat low-key, was not at the NYSE and did not ring the opening bell. “I have no doubt that there will be ups and downs as we continue to innovate and establish new capabilities,” Ek said in a blog post Monday evening. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek sought to manage expectations, saying he expects a bumpy road.
The NYSE had set a reference price of $132 and indications pointed to shares trading as high as $155.
The Swedish company will make its stock market debut Tuesday, casting a spotlight on its early lead in music streaming - a still-evolving field trying to hook people on the idea that it’s better to subscribe for online access to millions of tunes than to buy individual albums and singles. Spotify is still waiting to find out whether investors view its music streaming service as a budding superstar or a flash in the pan.
0 kommentar(er)
