Brief - The Hustle

Spotify has some tricks up its sleeve in the war for subscription dominance

Written by Wes Schlagenhauf | Jun 30, 2020 8:41:18 AM

Yesterday, news broke that Apple Music reached 40m subs, closing the gap behind Spotify in the battle for user-ears.

While they’re still 30m ahead, Spotify isn’t taking any chances: Yesterday they announced a new discounted bundle deal with Hulu.

Now, instead of paying $9.99 a month for a commercial-free subscription to Spotify, users can pay $12.99 a month for a combo deal of Spotify Premium and Hulu’s limited commercials plan.

And that’s not all

Spotify is a busy brand these days: The Swedish music-streaming company went public earlier this month, and now they’re gearing up for a big event where it’s rumored they’ll launch their maiden voyage into hardware.

And speaking of rumors…

In another attempt to pull away from the pack, Spotify may soon announce a software update for their free mobile service, according to Bloomberg. The revamp will mirror the paid version — giving users better access to tracks by offering more control over what they can play.

Cuz even cheapskates like to select tracks, Spotify… 

Any-hoozle, aside from competitors, the streaming giant is also competing with itself. Spotify needs to attract tons of new listeners to satiate investors who value the freshly public company based on user growth, and that all comes down to the freeloaders.

Spotify’s paid version accounts for less than half of its user base, but a full 90% of its 2017 revenue. 

Translation: More cheapskates using their service = more people they can eventually convert into paid subscribers.