5 ms·

Same reason people don't move from Amazon to Wal-Mart, or Apple to Android, or Netflix to...I don't even know what. Spotify is objectively better as a service,

Same reason people don't move from Amazon to Wal-Mart, or Apple to Android, or Netflix to...I don't even know what. Spotify is objectively better as a service, people love it, and we are creatures of habit. There are other factors like social and all the playlists you've created. Besides, people derive value from things based on more than price alone. You might not see why they have pricing power but the fact is they have over 60 million paying subscribers so they must be doing something right. And is the ~$10/month meaningful for any of those subscribers? Probably not at all. I mean, you're going to tell me that people line up to buy a $1,000 iPhone which costs 25% more than a previous model but perhaps an extra $2/month for Spotify (#12 app on App Store - right in between Gmail app and Uber) is going to cause an exodus? I'll take the other side of that one.

mbrzuzy 9y ago
Good point. If Spotify started charging $15 instead of $9.99 I wouldn't care, I would still pay. They are simply the best music streaming service out there IMO. I payed for Google Music for a bit a while ago and I hated it and switch to Spotify. The experience was awful. I'm also pretty sure that Google Music rips audio from Youtube in certain cases which makes the audio quality terrible.
- thinkmassive 9y ago
  I also tried Google Music for a while before leaving it. They enticed me by offering to host all my MP3s, so I could stream my entire collection to any of my devices. Later I found out they would use user uploads in their catalog (when legally able), so it sounds more likely that someone uploaded a bad copy that was shared, rather than Google ripping music from youtube.
- TheHegemon 9y ago
  > I payed for Google Music for a bit a while ago and I hated it and switch to Spotify. It's always so interesting how people can have similar experiences but come out with completely different perspectives. For me, the Google Play Radio feature is the most important thing they have. It's like a Pandora that doesn't play you the same three songs over and over. When I would try and use the radio feature on Spotify it would play music that was not even close to the original other than it maybe being in the "alternative" category.
  - thinkmassive 9y ago
    Spotify eventually makes great recommendations. The Daily Mixes (I think there's always 6) consistently deliver music I enjoy while maintaining a much better "genre theme" than anything I ever heard from Pandora. I say eventually, because it's conditional on you using the service to seek out a variety of music you enjoy, and also on providing feedback via thumbsup/add-to-library actions. Try this for a month and you'll get good recommendations that continue improving over time.
  - remir 9y ago
    Spotify's strength is their recommendation engine, IMO. It's really good.
    - jschwartzi 9y ago
      For me it's the concerts listing, which shows you when an artist is in town and how to buy tickets.
      - toomanybeersies 9y ago
        Oh wow, I just realised that feature exists. Also looks like Zhu is coming to town Next week. Might have to grab some tickets.
bllguo 9y ago
I see much less differentiating spotify from its competitors, than in the case of amazon/anyone else or apple/android. Objectively better.. maybe? Don't really see it, personally. But say that's true - what's stopping Google or Apple from investing heavily in their offerings and crushing spotify in the process? Again - what's the moat here? Can't help but feel that you're projecting your personal love for spotify onto others.
BinaryIdiot 9y ago
> Same reason people don't move from Amazon to Wal-Mart, or Apple to Android, or Netflix The big difference is Apple has its own ecosystem, Amazon and Wal-Mart sell a lot of different stuff, Netflix has a TON of original shows to differentiate itself from Hulu and others. Spotify? They literally offer the identical catalog of music as everyone else. Literally. Sure their apps may be slightly better but who cares? If they raised their prices why not move to the more native solution your platform offers for cheaper? Google Music, Apple Music, Microsoft Groove (lol), Amazon Music; they all offer the same damn thing.
- bedhead 9y ago
  Then why is Spotify so freakin popular? Why do they have more than double the subscribers as Apple Music which arguably has major advantages (resources, pre-installed, etc)?
  - BinaryIdiot 9y ago
    First mover advantage? Spotify has been around for many, many years before just about anyone else that matters. Since they're all basically the same thing why would you change after new ones came out? I kept with Google Music for the longest time before moving to spotify only because of the family deal (which, if I remember correctly, came before Google's deal and really the only reason why I ever switched).
    - bedhead 9y ago
      Sorry, not buying it. You don't grow to 60 million paying subs on a generic product that has little more than a first mover advantage. Their subscriber count grew 50% from Sep 16 through Jul 17 alone when everyone was competing aggressively. It grew a ton after Apple Music came out. It grew a ton after Google Music came out. It grew a ton after Amazon Music came out. Maybe, just maybe, Spotify is actually really great and customers love it. This reminds me of people debating Apple vs Android circa 2012.
      - 9y ago

mbrzuzy 9y ago

Good point. If Spotify started charging $15 instead of $9.99 I wouldn't care, I would still pay. They are simply the best music streaming service out there IMO. I payed for Google Music for a bit a while ago and I hated it and switch to Spotify. The experience was awful. I'm also pretty sure that Google Music rips audio from Youtube in certain cases which makes the audio quality terrible.

thinkmassive 9y ago
I also tried Google Music for a while before leaving it. They enticed me by offering to host all my MP3s, so I could stream my entire collection to any of my devices. Later I found out they would use user uploads in their catalog (when legally able), so it sounds more likely that someone uploaded a bad copy that was shared, rather than Google ripping music from youtube.
TheHegemon 9y ago
> I payed for Google Music for a bit a while ago and I hated it and switch to Spotify. It's always so interesting how people can have similar experiences but come out with completely different perspectives. For me, the Google Play Radio feature is the most important thing they have. It's like a Pandora that doesn't play you the same three songs over and over. When I would try and use the radio feature on Spotify it would play music that was not even close to the original other than it maybe being in the "alternative" category.
- thinkmassive 9y ago
  Spotify eventually makes great recommendations. The Daily Mixes (I think there's always 6) consistently deliver music I enjoy while maintaining a much better "genre theme" than anything I ever heard from Pandora. I say eventually, because it's conditional on you using the service to seek out a variety of music you enjoy, and also on providing feedback via thumbsup/add-to-library actions. Try this for a month and you'll get good recommendations that continue improving over time.
- remir 9y ago
  Spotify's strength is their recommendation engine, IMO. It's really good.
  - jschwartzi 9y ago
    For me it's the concerts listing, which shows you when an artist is in town and how to buy tickets.
    - toomanybeersies 9y ago
      Oh wow, I just realised that feature exists. Also looks like Zhu is coming to town Next week. Might have to grab some tickets.

bllguo 9y ago

I see much less differentiating spotify from its competitors, than in the case of amazon/anyone else or apple/android. Objectively better.. maybe? Don't really see it, personally. But say that's true - what's stopping Google or Apple from investing heavily in their offerings and crushing spotify in the process? Again - what's the moat here? Can't help but feel that you're projecting your personal love for spotify onto others.

BinaryIdiot 9y ago

> Same reason people don't move from Amazon to Wal-Mart, or Apple to Android, or Netflix The big difference is Apple has its own ecosystem, Amazon and Wal-Mart sell a lot of different stuff, Netflix has a TON of original shows to differentiate itself from Hulu and others. Spotify? They literally offer the identical catalog of music as everyone else. Literally. Sure their apps may be slightly better but who cares? If they raised their prices why not move to the more native solution your platform offers for cheaper? Google Music, Apple Music, Microsoft Groove (lol), Amazon Music; they all offer the same damn thing.

bedhead 9y ago
Then why is Spotify so freakin popular? Why do they have more than double the subscribers as Apple Music which arguably has major advantages (resources, pre-installed, etc)?
- BinaryIdiot 9y ago
  First mover advantage? Spotify has been around for many, many years before just about anyone else that matters. Since they're all basically the same thing why would you change after new ones came out? I kept with Google Music for the longest time before moving to spotify only because of the family deal (which, if I remember correctly, came before Google's deal and really the only reason why I ever switched).
  - bedhead 9y ago
    Sorry, not buying it. You don't grow to 60 million paying subs on a generic product that has little more than a first mover advantage. Their subscriber count grew 50% from Sep 16 through Jul 17 alone when everyone was competing aggressively. It grew a ton after Apple Music came out. It grew a ton after Google Music came out. It grew a ton after Amazon Music came out. Maybe, just maybe, Spotify is actually really great and customers love it. This reminds me of people debating Apple vs Android circa 2012.
    - 9y ago