Could Spotify be the next Netflix?

[Jazzy]

Music-streaming powerhouse Spotify could be about to take on giants like YouTube and Netflix – by introducing video.

Rumblings from the industry suggest that a new video-streaming section for the popular network could be unveiled at a New York conference later this month.

Spotify has been tight-lipped about the rumours, however.

If the music king is about to bring video to the game they would be wrangling for YouTube’s one billion monthly users and Netflix’s 60 million paying subscribers.

Spotify currently has 15 million members on their paid-for service. But with competition constantly heating up in such a fast-paced market, the firm will need to do something to lock down its longevity.

Thoughts?

 

[The Infamous Gizmo]

Based on that whole incident Taylor Swift had with Spotify a while back where she removed all her content from the service, I'd say they'd have to improve their relations with the creators/owners of the content. Supposedly, Spotify pays quite a lot less royalties than say, buying the actual song on iTunes for $1.29 which could hurt the library they have.

I'm not against streaming services, I just think they need to pay more fairly. For example, singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc (of "Wake Me Up" and "The Man" fame) claims he's only gotten $12,000 from royalties on Pandora and Spotify just from 168 million plays of the hit song "Wake Me Up" by Avicii, which he helped write and was the featured vocalist on the song. While that may seem like quite a bit to you and I, it's really not much for 168mil plays. I think they should start paying the content owners more before they try this, is what I'm saying.

Just my two cents.