Spotify Newsletter #185

Your Weekly Dose of Spotify News

Oct 27, 2023

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Hello … and welcome to a new edition of the Spotify Newsletter! Thanks so much for reading our quick rundown of all the best Spotify news of the week.

It was quite a week in Spotify World:

A) Spotify Hit All the Right Notes

Spotify said Tuesday morning that it added six million new paying subscribers during the third quarter, which was well over the four million the company had forecast three months ago. It projected adding nine million new paying subscribers in the fourth quarter, topping the eight million analysts had been projecting. (WSJ)

B) Spotify is Changing its Royalty Model to Crush Streaming Fraud

Spotify has been discussing details of its blueprint for the new royalty model with various music rightsholders in recent weeks. MBW has confirmed that starting in Q1 2024, each track on Spotify – under the DSP’s new plans – will have to reach a minimum number of annual streams before it starts generating royalties. (MBW)

It was mentioned to me that sometimes my New Adventures playlist isn’t always that … adventurous. I guess a deep cut off Midnight Oil’s sophomore release from 1979 (Head Injuries) isn’t venturesome enough for some people. I get it! 😀

In the spirit of expanding musical horizons I dialed up the Fresh Finds Folk and Fresh Finds Jazz playlists to see what’s out there in the music world. I added two below to the playlist this week.

You can spotlight your own playlist adventures - if you desire - right here on the world famous Spotify Newsletter. Click here for details! Have a nice weekend!

★ SPOTlight ★

⭐️ Spotify Third-Quarter Earnings, Subscriber, Advertising Update

The music streaming giant, led by CEO Daniel Ek, exceeds third-quarter expectations amid better-than-expected subscriber gains and recently unveiled price increases, with advertising growth also reaccelerating.

⭐️ Spotify is changing its royalty model to crush streaming fraud and introduce a minimum payment threshold.

Its plan? To shift $1 billion in payouts towards ‘working artists’ over the next 5 years.

⭐️ Daniel Ek: I launched Spotify in the UK 15 years ago. But I fear I couldn't do that today because Apple is a barrier to innovation

I distinctly remember sitting in our makeshift London office when we first launched and the early data coming in showed that listeners couldn’t get enough of the UK artist Coldplay.

⭐️ Spotify CEO On Audiobook Push & Promise Of Generative AI For Adio Ads

Spotify gave an early peek at its two-week-old Audiobook rollout with chief executive Daniel Ek telling investors, “It’s early days, but we feel good.”

⭐️ Variety & Spotify Set 2023 Entertainment Marketing Visionaries Dinner

Variety and Spotify will host the 2023 Entertainment Marketing Visionaries Dinner on Thursday, Oct. 26. The invite-only dinner, held in Los Angeles, will bring together top entertainment marketers from the film, TV, music and technology sectors.