The Value Engineers’ Post

Good illustration of also platform businesses are evolving all the time, and why even big players like Spotify will over time struggle if they don’t continuously adjust. Staying in the “winning” position is demanding and requires continually re-thinking, adjustments and really, really good understanding of your business, your customer, the value you bring, your control points etc. …and most importantly react to it! The first place to my experiences many fails - no action is also an action, but often not the best one! Nothing new there, but this great article is documenting it so clearly that all the above certainly also counts for the platform business, again thanks Sangeet Paul Choudary   I love how these evolving situations force every joint in the value chain to improve their value creation to the users in order for the players to stay in business. Being the open platform and a global leader for creating value out of all the video generate every second on this planet, this is a situation we know very well in Milestone. For the value creation on our platform, video analytics is becoming an even more vital part of the supply side, hence also have an impact on the dynamics described in this article.

Spotify held its quarterly earnings call yesterday, shortly after publishing its Q2 financials. One of the first topics that came up was the company missing its guidance to analysis on monthly active users (MAUs) growth. While its 626 million MAUs were up 14% year-on-year, they were 5m less than Spotify had predicted. CEO Daniel Ek outlined two things Spotify is doing to juice the growth of its free tier. “First, we’re intensifying our efforts to improve the impact of our marketing, and we believe there are a number of levers to pull over the upcoming quarters,” he told analysts. “Second, we are prioritising enhancements in our free product pipeline that, based on existing performance in certain markets, should boost engagement and retention, especially in our developing markets. Ek added that “while I am disappointed with our MAU miss, I see the reversal as more of a when rather than an if… overall, we’re seeing healthy MAU engagement trends year-over-year, so the users we are now acquiring we’re also retaining, which is a great leading indicator for value and future monetisations.” Read The Full Story Here: https://lnkd.in/dy43-E9v #Spotify #Streaming #MusicIndustry #musically #musicnews #readmore

Sure, the stock went up, but Spotify's latest price hike is destined to devalue the service with consumers (and musicians, after the CEO loftily declared that the music Spotify #streams is "zero-cost content" - a paraphrase, but really?). Younger shoppers are already maxing out on #membership costs, with younger #Millennials spending over $250 a year on average on just retail memberships (think Prime, Walmart+, Instacart+, Dashpass), with #GenZ close behind. Factor in multiple #streaming services for music, video and gaming, and you've got a #subscription-weary shopper who is going to be evaluating the #value each service provides and whether it's really worth the cost. For more on Kantar's Retail Membership Readout, visit: https://lnkd.in/e8xwTHrV Consulting by Kantar https://lnkd.in/eKNCSa3j?

Sobering. That's amid Spotify rather cosmetic (for serious labels and artists, and material for Spotify themselves) adjustment in their payout model (the 1000 plays threshold), and all the backlash, the price hikes and all other adjustments they are currently going through. Music artists and labels sometimes fail to recognize that they live in a heavily subsidized landscape for the last decade. It has never been easier to make $$$ from music. There may be a point in time where for a brief second, in a specific country, for a specific demographic it was easier to make a real living out of it, but sustainable business models are not built on anecdotal data. Now that money is not free anymore, and the bills are piling up, come the real test - how does a resilient and sustainable model for online streaming look like. And it will be designed by the listeners, not by the artists or labels. And the answer might be Spotify - but just leaner. https://lnkd.in/dt3CwMiX.

Spotify Stock Celebrates Birthday with 11% Jump as Investors Play to the Tune of Record Profits. Music streamer’s earnings showed that profits are every investor’s jam. • Spotify stock turned up the volume by gaining 11% on Tuesday, following the music streamer’s earnings report for the first quarter. Released before the opening bell, the results showed that Spotify swung to a record quarterly profit of €197 million ($210 million), or €0.97 a share. A comfortable beat after a bruising €225 million loss, or €1.16 a pop for the year-ago quarter. Party time? Yes. • The Swedish company just turned 18 on April 23, and what better way to celebrate than to show investors it can spin up profits? After some long dry spells that had investors losing interest, shares of Spotify are up 60% on the year. If the music company keeps hitting the profit chord, it will meet its 2024 growth target. • Other figures from the earnings report include €3.64 billion in revenue, topping estimates and coming above the €3 billion from the year-ago quarter. The company added 3 million paying customers over the first three months of the year to a total of 239 million. Monthly active users rose to 615 million, up 19% from last year’s first quarter. Spotify recently announced price hikes and layoffs in efforts to cut costs and boost profits. Follow us on. Website: https://lnkd.in/dB_iR_Dz YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dVUPV9aA Facebook: #tradeprosperity #trading #spotify #stockmarket

There are a couple of reasons why Spotify has and could raise its prices. They likely did a deep dive into their customer data to see whether this price increase would drive revenue growth, and ultimately increase margins. Or if they would see a drop in subscribers and lower new customer acquisition. Price increases are one of the most effective ways to increase margins and they were targeted in how they raised prices. They raised prices a different percentage based on the tier, ranging from 9% increase to just under 17%. It's clear that they believe that subscribers on the duo and the family plans are less sensitive to price increases than those on the individuals. They are also raising prices for their U.S. customers, which indicates a targeted regional strategy. So far, it's worked for them well - their stock prices increased with the release. If we had to offer any criticism of Spotify, it might be to be a bit more transparent about why this price increase and why now. Customers are increasingly feeling pressured and are looking for value. #Spotify #pricestrategy #priceincreases

Out of the many year-in-reviews, Spotify’s campaign never fails to stand out. Its lasting popularity can be credited to the simple fact that it is the OG year-in-review campaign. All the way back in 2016, Movable Ink powered the very first Spotify Wrapped. The rest was history. If you want to innovate your year-in-review campaign, you’ve definitely come to the right place. In this article, here are three tips you can learn from the Spotify Wrapped campaign and how you can apply it to your own year-end messages. Sharing my Spotify Wrapped for 2023. Would love to see yours! #yearinreview #wrapped

Spotify's Financial Health: Hits and Misses in Recent Quarters Calling all investors and finance enthusiasts! Let's dive into Spotify's recent financial performance and uncover key insights for our investing journey. The Good: Steady Revenue Growth: Spotify's total revenue has grown consistently, exceeding expectations in Q3 2023 with a 11% YoY increase. This demonstrates continued market demand for music streaming services. Returning to Profitability: After experiencing losses in previous quarters, Spotify finally reported an operating income of €32 million in Q3 2023. This signifies progress in their profitability goals. Improved Gross Margin: The gross margin has shown a positive trend, reaching 26.4% in Q3 2023. This indicates improved efficiency and cost management within the company. Strong Subscriber Base: Spotify's subscriber base continues to expand, reaching over 456 million users as of Q3 2023. This provides a solid foundation for future revenue growth. The Not-So-Good: Podcast Investments: While promising, Spotify's podcast investments have yet to translate into significant profits.This raises concerns about the long-term return on investment in this area. Competition: The music streaming market remains highly competitive, with Apple Music and Amazon Music posing significant challenges. Maintaining market share will require continued innovation and strategic differentiation. Operating Expenses: Despite cost-reduction efforts, Spotify's operating expenses continue to rise. This could potentially limit future profitability if not addressed effectively. Key Takeaways: Spotify is on the path to profitability but still faces challenges. Focus on efficiency, subscriber growth, and innovation will be crucial for long-term success. Investors should carefully consider the risks and potential rewards before investing in Spotify. What are your thoughts on Spotify's financial health? Share your insights in the comments below! #Spotify #Financials #Investing #MusicStreaming #MarketInsights #BusinessAnalysis

Another price hike is headed to Spotify Premium. Spotify announced it’s raising subscriptions for customers in the U.S. in July from $10.99 to $11.99. It’s the second such price increase in the space of a year. The Duo and Family plans will go up to $16.99 and $19.99, which are $2 and $3 increases respectively, while the student plan will remain at $5.99 per month. The price rises come as Spotify recently reported a 20% increase in revenue, a 14% increase in premium subscribers, and a record quarterly profit. But the new structure better matches it with Apple's prices for individual and family plans. Read more from Paul Sawers: https://tcrn.ch/454YGC9 #TechCrunch #technews #spotify #spotifypremium #subscriptions #applemusic

I choose you! Let's do some education on sales/business manipulations for those who haven't seen the behind the scenes like I have in medical software/medical device. And then you decide for yourself what this REALLY is. 🦉 You keep upping the price until people start leaving. This is called PULLING LEVERS. You keep messing with the wild animal until it fights back. That is when you know you have to scale things back the other way. So it won't accept me poking it with stick 3 times, but it is ok with 2. GOT IT. 2 better than 0 😉 So if people start leaving you reduce the price by just a bit (and present a sweet promo that will be gone by the end of the month and only pops up when you cancel...haha). But the new "discounted" price is still more than original, but now you made the uninformed feel like they got a deal! Did you know companies make it intentionally hard to cancel? And then they have services now that can follow your credit card numbers even if you request new numbers/cards from the bank. It auto updates for them. How? Can someone explain that to me? Ultimate level of tracking going on. OTHER SALES MANIPULATIONS: 1. There is no urgency. They can make a deal whenever they want if the C-levels decide to. If they were selling Spotify to a B2B company so all their sales reps get it, they can offer whatever they want to that company. If you have the ear of the c-levels they can approve anything as long as the gross margins are right. Did they make profit after all the expenses incurred or is it a loss leader? And that is with paying all of the managers, sales reps, CSMs, etc bonuses. I could literally get my customers any price as long as it was above our "floor". And even then exceptions were made if we could cut out extra marketing costs etc...There was no deal that would VANISH. FAKE. 2. Price gouging. Why do we hate on MLMs if aesthetic medical device is exactly the same? A pyramid scheme. I sold a doctor in Utah a RF, IPL workstation device and she paid $44k that was $49, 900 list. My executives realized a competitor was selling a similar device that could treat dry eyes with RF treatment to the eye...for over $100k. So they decided to up the price for the device I had just sold to $119, 900. Overnight. Same expenses as before. Same product. But much higher profit. And then they wanted to force her to sign an NDA to silence her because she was giving glowing reviews to the purchasing experience, the product and her mistake was she mentioned the price she paid $44k. SHE WAS HAPPY! SHE WAS SELLING FOR US! She was convincing doctors around the USA to go with us. She was getting us referrals and was reviewing us. They refused to pay her referral money. We could have taken over the market by giving so much value at $44k. Instead...they chose greed. 🦁 COMPANIES. You have an opportunity to be a hero right now and get music to people's ears for cheaper to help boost "spirit" and instead you choose to do this? SHAME 🔔