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I think you'd confusing business with product. It's a common conflation because with many companies it's the same thing. But in this case I think it's importan

I think you'd confusing business with product. It's a common conflation because with many companies it's the same thing. But in this case I think it's important to note that Spotify's business is distribution via software. Their consumer product is absolutely music (via streaming). It's no different to, say, a book publisher - their business is marketing and delivery/distribution but their product is (obviously) books. The article is a little childish in tone (and clearly written by an interested party to one side of this argument) but his central point here is not wrong.

bmelton 9y ago
There's probably room for semantic interpretation here. > an article or substance that is manufactured or refined for sale The Spotify service is a product that is manufactured, and its purpose is to distribute music. Depending on how you parse that definition, I can see arguments that either of us is correct. Moreover, I see a distinction between product (that they make) and product (that they distribute). I don't disagree that (as the article assets) "Starbucks is coffee", but, to be fair, Starbucks actually does make the coffee that they then also sell and distribute. That said, I think the author's central point is that Spotify adds no value to the ecosystem, which I think is very much wrong. That isn't to say that they couldn't be replaced, but I can't think of anyone who can't be, in any industry, vertical, what have you.
- abritinthebay 9y ago
  Ah, yes - the Spotify app is a product of work within the company but it's not the product. Language isn't prescriptive so it's irrelevant anyhow but the problem here is you're using Google's first result (which is the awful dictionary.com results). Using a not-awful dictionary (Merriam-Webster) gives us a much more normal (and broader) set of definitions, including: > something produced; especially : commodity 1 (2) : something (such as a service) that is marketed or sold as a commodity. Spotify certainly produces the software (it's their distribution method) but what they market and sell as their commodity is music. Music is, even dictionary definitionally, their product.

bmelton 9y ago

There's probably room for semantic interpretation here. > an article or substance that is manufactured or refined for sale The Spotify service is a product that is manufactured, and its purpose is to distribute music. Depending on how you parse that definition, I can see arguments that either of us is correct. Moreover, I see a distinction between product (that they make) and product (that they distribute). I don't disagree that (as the article assets) "Starbucks is coffee", but, to be fair, Starbucks actually does make the coffee that they then also sell and distribute. That said, I think the author's central point is that Spotify adds no value to the ecosystem, which I think is very much wrong. That isn't to say that they couldn't be replaced, but I can't think of anyone who can't be, in any industry, vertical, what have you.

abritinthebay 9y ago
Ah, yes - the Spotify app is a product of work within the company but it's not the product. Language isn't prescriptive so it's irrelevant anyhow but the problem here is you're using Google's first result (which is the awful dictionary.com results). Using a not-awful dictionary (Merriam-Webster) gives us a much more normal (and broader) set of definitions, including: > something produced; especially : commodity 1 (2) : something (such as a service) that is marketed or sold as a commodity. Spotify certainly produces the software (it's their distribution method) but what they market and sell as their commodity is music. Music is, even dictionary definitionally, their product.