Spotify has never raised its prices since the app’s inception in 2006 until the year 2023 rolls around. Then it became more expensive. And now that we have just gotten used to 2024, the prices of the streaming service will also increase this year. And this time not just because it wants to make a point in France. Is Spotify a kind of Primark?
Primark and Spotify
Primark, called ‘the pri’ by some and ‘primarkt’ by others, is a clothing store loved by many and loathed by many. It is fast fashion: cheap clothing usually made from not the best materials and also manufactured in low-wage countries. A typical example of the throw-away society. When Primark just settled in the Netherlands, prices were dirt cheap, but they are now slowly creeping up and such a brand is falling off its pedestal due to many factors.
Where Primark has changed the street scene with its cardboard bags with light blue font, Spotify has changed music. Not what it sounds like, but how we get there. Spotify has made the change for many people from illegal downloads via Napster, Kazaa and Limewire, to a legal way of listening to music. From downloading and listening offline, to streaming. From a predetermined playlist, whatever music you want to listen to at any time and wherever you want. That is quite an achievement, especially for a startup that started in not necessarily exceptionally techie Sweden.
Hi Fi
But unfortunately: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has a blind spot. He does bring many possibilities to Spotify, but this does not make any difference. Podcasts was a smart choice, but what else has Spotify really changed since that disruption in the 00s and early 10s? Well, there is Wrapped, but audiobooks are not really taking off yet and it is now the second time with a price increase in a fairly short time. Last summer the subscription became 1 euro more expensive, and this year it will increase in the US and Pakistan, but possibly also in Europe. However, this has not yet been confirmed by Spotify. While we eagerly wait for something that audio enthusiasts and music fans have been whining about for years: better quality audio. Lossless, spatial: it is not there.
And Spotify does promise: it has already spoken several times about Hi-Fi, in which we can expect ‘high definition sound’. But now the question becomes more whether we can really expect it, because we are already many months, perhaps even years, further. Meanwhile, Spotify is busy with other things, like arguing with Apple, arguing with France, and making smart deals with Google. These are things that do not necessarily benefit us as consumers very quickly: Spotify itself, on the other hand, does.
Focus on the music
Fortunately, Spotify now has a lot to like and in that respect it is also similar to Primark. No matter how much you might be against Primark, sometimes they have collaborations with popular brands that still draw you to the store. As the largest streaming service, Spotify is also attractive, especially with its free subscription. Plus: it is an app that is fully supported by other technology, which makes it very easy to use. And it has certainly achieved a lot in the music world: more than Primark in the fashion world.
But we increasingly get the feeling that Spotify has the wrong focus: is the company still concerned with a good music experience for its customers, or is it just a little too concerned with peripheral matters? A – no matter how funny – medium, video courses… It is a far-from-Spotify show. There is hope in the form of music videos that can recently be viewed with some songs, but we still have to wait for that holy grail: Hi-Fi. That means putting the customer – and the music – first. Nobody asks for a medium, but the medium will undoubtedly be in high demand when better quality music comes along. No more fast fashion, but new options that really improve our music user experience.
