Spotify’s free tier isn’t really free; it’s ad-supported. Companies are paying Spotify to make you listen to ads every few tracks. Spotify makes less money per-play from ads than they do from Premium subscribers, so to encourage people to upgrade, the free tier is limited in certain ways. Possible problems at Spotify Spotify is an online music streaming service. Spotify uses a freemium model, offering a basic service free of charge while enticing customers to upgrade to a paid subscription plan that includes mobile applications and advertising.
Music
As the popular music streaming service goes public today, Spotify is set to continue to revolutionize the music business. But who ultimately profits?
Eleven years after it was founded, Spotify finally goes public on April 3. As the company's CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek explained on his blog a day earlier, Spotify seeks to put itself 'on a bigger stage' by listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
'Spotify is not raising capital, and our shareholders and employees have been free to buy and sell our stock for years..The move doesn't change who we are, what we are about, or how we operate,' he wrote in the blog post.
Read more: Spotify: Market unicorn prepares to go public
Analysts expect Spotify's first day on the NYSE to be volatile due to uncertainty as to whether the company — which has lost more than 2.4 billion euros ($3 billion) since it started — will be the next corporate chart-topper.
'One of the big questions about Spotify is whether they can take it to the next level like Netflix has,' said Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager for Synovus Trust. He says the video streaming service has created a hugely successful subscription-driven franchise with 'spectacular returns for the company's investors.'
Music industry disrupter
Spotify was established in 2006 by Ek and Martin Lorentzon, two Swedish entrepreneurs who have since become billionaires. It was centered around the idea of a legal platform to distribute music online at a time when illegal file sharing sites dominated this market segment.
Spotify's popularity marked the music industry's shift from physical to digital, to embracing the internet rather than fighting it, with the platform has helped to spread the medium of streaming services in many parts of the world.
Spotify says it currently has 159 million monthly users, including 71 million paying subscribers. Its value is estimated to be as much as 19 billion euros ($23.4 billion).
Nonetheless, many competitors have since emerged, includingApple Music, Amazon or the local players such as Deezer or Saavn, which focuses on Hindi Music. They all aim to win a slice of the music streaming market, which grew by 60.4 percent in 2016 according to the annual report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). That year, Spotify controlled 44 percent of the overall subscriber share.
€32,500 for 10 million streams
But while Spotify is undoubtedly the driving force of a turnaround in the music industry, the service has not posted a profit since it launched.
The company with full-year revenue of more than 4 billion euros ($4.95 billion) in 2017 said it aimed to boost its subscriber numbers from 30 to 36 percent this year.
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift pulled out all her music from Spotify over fees, saying that 'Music shouldn't be free.'
Revenue is one of Spotify's key problems: The service has repeatedly come under fire for obscuring how much it actually pays to artists, which has caused the public question whether the service is fair.
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Perrin Lamb said in 2015 that he received $40,000 (€32,500) in royalties for 10 million streams of his single 'Everyone’s Got Something,' making the average per-stream payout around €0,0032.
In 2016, Forbes magazine quoted a report showing that there is no set fee for downloads, and that per play revenue allocation is highly variable, meaning a reliable 'average' is almost impossible to ascertain.
Same old song
Spotify has not only changed the way artists are paid for their music — but also how they create it. https://renewapartment.weebly.com/download-driver-epson-l200-for-mac.html. With Spotify's focus on playlists, it has become much easier to find new music; but it has also made traditional albums almost irrelevant.
Read more: Spotify hit with $1.6 billion copyright lawsuit
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Writing in The Guardian last year, music business and technology journalist Eamonn Forde said that recording companies tend to create single multi-format songs to 'keep the plates spinning' in the Spotify age. The goal is to get more revenue from one composition, he noted, with Spotify's number one ranked song in 2017, 'Despacito,' having billions of hits due to the many different versions and remixes that have been released.
'Un-Islamic' Despacito silenced by Malaysian censors
Striking the wrong note
Denouncing the lyrics of hit Spanish-language single by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi, Islamic party Amanah, argued that 'many young children were singing the song without understanding the words.' Spanish is not commonly used in Malaysia, where English, Malay, and several Chinese and Indian dialects are spoken.'Un-Islamic' Despacito silenced by Malaysian censors
Missing the innuendo
Bemused Malaysians took to social media to highlight songs with seemingly innocuous lyrics that have slipped past the censors and ruled the airwaves. These include 'Milkshake' by Kelis, 'Whistle' by Flo Rida, or the 1997 hit 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua.'Un-Islamic' Despacito silenced by Malaysian censors
Like a scratched record
Some local websites provided helpful lists of songs that should instead be taken off air for excessive airplay. This includes 'Bang Bang' by Ariana Granda, Jessie J and Nicki Minaj, which one website underscored, 'is not about gunshots.''Un-Islamic' Despacito silenced by Malaysian censors
Keeping it clean
Sanitized versions of songs containing colorful language have also enjoyed airplay. For example, Cee Lo Green's 'F*** You' became the more appropriate 'Forget You.''Un-Islamic' Despacito silenced by Malaysian censors
Politics as usual
Censorship is not limited to sex, drugs, alcohol or profanity. The word 'Mazel Tov' (Hebrew for 'good luck') from the Black Eyed Peas' 'I Gotta Feeling' is censored in Malaysia during airplay. Malaysia does not recognize the state of Israel, has no diplomatic ties and prohibits its citizens from traveling to the country.'Un-Islamic' Despacito silenced by Malaysian censors
Keep faith out of it
The mention of hallelujah in Justin Bieber's 'As Long As You Love Me' was also cut by Malaysian censors - although Hozier's 'Take Me To Church' was allowed to be aired. One local website quoted ex-state radio DJs in Malaysia as saying that as long as lyrics remain 'vague enough,' they'll pass muster.'Un-Islamic' Despacito silenced by Malaysian censors
Too Gaga for social mores
Lady Gaga’s 'Born This Way' which contains the line 'No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life, I'm on the right track, baby' was deemed 'offensive when viewed against Malaysia's social and religious observances.' It drew not just the singer's ire but also that of Malaysian LGBT groups.'Un-Islamic' Despacito silenced by Malaysian censors
We vote no
Anime studio 8 for mac. In 2011, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission banned 'Undilah' (Malay for 'Go vote') because its content allegedly 'offends certain segments of society.' Mixing Malay, English and Mandarin, the song's video featured local personalities (and some opposition politicians) urging Malaysians to register and go vote.'Un-Islamic' Despacito silenced by Malaysian censors
Stick to one language
In 2004, Malay songs containing English lyrics were banned after the government was criticized for allowing them to 'corrupt the purity and sanctity of the Malay language.' Ironically, the Despacito phenomenon has spawned covers and parodies worldwide, including 'Incognito', a witty Malay version with English words about a jilted man singing to his faithless love.
The future of music?
'Spotify's model of letting people stream songs on demand is proving more popular than paid downloads, curated playlists, or internet radio broadcasting,' said eMarketer principal analyst Paul Verna. 'Spotify is a 'cool' brand, and teenagers especially love it. This bodes well for continued brand loyalty, which is a big factor in the stickiness of music services,' he added.
However, Spotify's stock exchange debut may have been poorly timed as tech stocks are being dragged down by worries about privacy and Facebook's handling of private data. 'Spotify will be lumped in with other tech stocks, which have been battered lately because of Facebook's data privacy issues,' Verna said.
Read more: Facebook to change privacy controls amid data scandal outcry
The concern is justified since Facebook has been credited with playing into Spotify's success: In 2009, Spotify won the public backing of Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg, who posted: 'Spotify is so good.'
Meanwhile, the Recording Industry Association of America said that revenue grew 16.5 percent in 2017, which marks the biggest increase since the dawn of online music in 1999.
jt/sb (with APFE, Reuters)
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Part 1. Adjust Spotify Equalizer on Mobile Devices
Antivirus software for older macs. Custom equalizer setting is a great option to personalize output Spotify audio tracks, which allows users to preset the audio settings to get favorite music sounds on devices. Equalizer for Spotify is available for both Android and iOS mobile apps. To change equalizer on Spotify, you don't need to download and use third-party software but for Spotify app only. Here's how you can enable an equalizer for Spotify on iOS and Android.
Spotify Equalizer on iOS
Step 1. Open Spotify app on your iPhone, navigate to Your Library tab in the lower-right corner and touch the Setting button at the top-right corner.
Step 2. In the setting window, you need to select Playback and then you will see there is an Equalizer option. Please tap the toggle to turn on the equalizer.
Step 3. You will see a list of preset equalizers for different types of music. In Spotify's case, 60Hz to 150Hz corresponds to the bass, 400Hz to 1KHz the midrange, and 2.4KHz to 15kHz to the treble. You can start to adjust the music preferences to the right one with best sounds by dragging the little white dots.
Step 4. When all settings are ready, just touch a preset to apply them, and you can get back to the home screen and listen to Spotify music in most suitable taste.
Spotify Equalizer on Android
If you don't use your Facebook account to sing up Spotify subscription, it could be easier to disconnect Spotify account from Facebook.
Step 1. Launch Spotify app on your Android phone. And you can hit on the 'Library' tab on your bottom-right hand corner to choose Setting option.
Step 2. In the Music Quality section, please scroll down to Equalizer button and click on it. It will pop up a prompt and you can just click OK to skip it.
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Step 3. Android manufactures allows users to install and use your own equalizer instead of using Spotify's equalizer. You just need to choose the favorite equalizer to start adjusting music preferences.
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Step 4. Please keep the Equalizer turned on and find which best suits you. When done, you can start to listen to nice audio quality on Spotify app.