5 ms·

Great news for Spotify! It’s a shame Microsoft couldn't find a way to keep MSN Music, Zune Music, XBox Music, or Groove Music sustainable for their users.

ben_jones 9y ago
There's two types of streaming service: "Let's vertically integrate this new service we have little experience with for profit and as a funnel to our other product lines" "Let's make a great streaming service that creates enough value for our customer that we remain profitable"
- Amezarak 9y ago
  The old Zune Pass was a pretty good deal. Unlimited streaming plus 10 drm-free mp3s a month. MS has actually been in the streaming music business longer than Spotify, when their myriad product lines are taken into account. That said, they didn't execute well. Zune Music was too dependent on the Zune. Groove had no selling points outside the ms ecosystem.
  - umeshunni 9y ago
    > MS has actually been in the <X> business longer than <current dominant player>, when their myriad product lines are taken into account. > That said, they didn't execute well. Generalizable to most things Microsoft is involved in.
    - mfoy_ 9y ago
      Their business model is largely a shotgun approach: Go for a plethora of services and products then see what sticks.
      - fgonzag 9y ago
        Their main problem is that conceive the service as value added for the platform, which is basically non existent now except for Xbox. If they instead spun off a group of engineers and allowed them to create a great streaming service with no restrictions or handcuffs because windows or office or IE or whatever is being pushed this month, and then use the platform as a value added for the service you would get much better result IMHO. That would mean develop for every mobile OS + windows and osx as a minimum from the start, not as an afterthought. No windows live or whatever it is called now ( linkable if you want), etc. Things Microsoft would never approve.
  - SomeStupidPoint 9y ago
    > MS has actually been in the X business longer than Y, when their myriad product lines are taken into account. > That said, they didn't execute well. This has been the story of any number of MS product lines, unfortunately. Handhelds/smart devices, social media, streaming services, etc. Microsoft is actually really good at recruiting research talent that spots the next trends emerging before they happen and coming up with compelling ideas/prototypes. They then proceed to trip over themselves during execution and while being first to market, being outcompeted by the second wave and coming in with a mediocre offering by the 3rd or 4th wave.
    - fgonzag 9y ago
      We have this great tech. Now shackle it to windows, IE, windows live accounts or any other myriad of things that nobody uses.
  - coverband 9y ago
    Rhapsody had the same model (not sure if they still do), and their catalog is as good or even larger than the rest. I'm still not sure why it's not considered the top competitor to Spotify.
- m_mueller 9y ago
  is Apple Music successful despite this flaw (I assume it is from what I've read so far)?
  - Longhanks 9y ago
    For me, Apple Music is better because a) the song limit is dramatically higher than Spotify (10k vs 100k) and b) I am free to add my own music (not available via streaming) to the library which is then available on all my devices.
    - henriquelimao 9y ago
      The song limit is really better in Apple, but you are able to add your own music in Spotify. To listen to it in other devices I had to download it in them.
      - balls187 9y ago
        That download process is outside of Spotify, right? With Apple Music, I believe, it's available across all your Apple music supported devices.
        henriquelimao 9y ago
        It is inside the app. It is the same process that you do to make playlists available offline. I only did that from my laptop to an android phone, I don't know if it works in all clients.
      - mustacheemperor 9y ago
        From what I remember having spotify, the only way to add your own music is to add it to a playlist from your computer, and then sync that playlist locally, so it basically just uses Spotify as a relay for your music on your computer. I'm assuming Apple is like Google Play Music, which lets you add albums and songs to your library that appear the same way as the streaming ones (within your albums/artists/etc) and don't need to be synced locally.
- Deimorz 9y ago
  Which type is Spotify? They lost over $500M in 2016 (http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7833686/spotify-2016-losses-financial-results-revenue http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7833686/spotify-2...).

ben_jones 9y ago

There's two types of streaming service: "Let's vertically integrate this new service we have little experience with for profit and as a funnel to our other product lines" "Let's make a great streaming service that creates enough value for our customer that we remain profitable"

Amezarak 9y ago
The old Zune Pass was a pretty good deal. Unlimited streaming plus 10 drm-free mp3s a month. MS has actually been in the streaming music business longer than Spotify, when their myriad product lines are taken into account. That said, they didn't execute well. Zune Music was too dependent on the Zune. Groove had no selling points outside the ms ecosystem.
- umeshunni 9y ago
  > MS has actually been in the <X> business longer than <current dominant player>, when their myriad product lines are taken into account. > That said, they didn't execute well. Generalizable to most things Microsoft is involved in.
  - mfoy_ 9y ago
    Their business model is largely a shotgun approach: Go for a plethora of services and products then see what sticks.
    - fgonzag 9y ago
      Their main problem is that conceive the service as value added for the platform, which is basically non existent now except for Xbox. If they instead spun off a group of engineers and allowed them to create a great streaming service with no restrictions or handcuffs because windows or office or IE or whatever is being pushed this month, and then use the platform as a value added for the service you would get much better result IMHO. That would mean develop for every mobile OS + windows and osx as a minimum from the start, not as an afterthought. No windows live or whatever it is called now ( linkable if you want), etc. Things Microsoft would never approve.
- SomeStupidPoint 9y ago
  > MS has actually been in the X business longer than Y, when their myriad product lines are taken into account. > That said, they didn't execute well. This has been the story of any number of MS product lines, unfortunately. Handhelds/smart devices, social media, streaming services, etc. Microsoft is actually really good at recruiting research talent that spots the next trends emerging before they happen and coming up with compelling ideas/prototypes. They then proceed to trip over themselves during execution and while being first to market, being outcompeted by the second wave and coming in with a mediocre offering by the 3rd or 4th wave.
  - fgonzag 9y ago
    We have this great tech. Now shackle it to windows, IE, windows live accounts or any other myriad of things that nobody uses.
- coverband 9y ago
  Rhapsody had the same model (not sure if they still do), and their catalog is as good or even larger than the rest. I'm still not sure why it's not considered the top competitor to Spotify.
m_mueller 9y ago
is Apple Music successful despite this flaw (I assume it is from what I've read so far)?
- Longhanks 9y ago
  For me, Apple Music is better because a) the song limit is dramatically higher than Spotify (10k vs 100k) and b) I am free to add my own music (not available via streaming) to the library which is then available on all my devices.
  - henriquelimao 9y ago
    The song limit is really better in Apple, but you are able to add your own music in Spotify. To listen to it in other devices I had to download it in them.
    - balls187 9y ago
      That download process is outside of Spotify, right? With Apple Music, I believe, it's available across all your Apple music supported devices.
      - henriquelimao 9y ago
        It is inside the app. It is the same process that you do to make playlists available offline. I only did that from my laptop to an android phone, I don't know if it works in all clients.
    - mustacheemperor 9y ago
      From what I remember having spotify, the only way to add your own music is to add it to a playlist from your computer, and then sync that playlist locally, so it basically just uses Spotify as a relay for your music on your computer. I'm assuming Apple is like Google Play Music, which lets you add albums and songs to your library that appear the same way as the streaming ones (within your albums/artists/etc) and don't need to be synced locally.
Deimorz 9y ago
Which type is Spotify? They lost over $500M in 2016 (http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7833686/spotify-2016-losses-financial-results-revenue http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7833686/spotify-2...).