I love Spotify. No two ways about it. They've ignited debate, extinguished piracy needs and shown the way of the future for music on the web and beyond.However, for every article I read about them being the saviour of the music industry, I'm reading another about how their business plan is being crippled by royalty payments and not enough sign up for their subscription service.
Tech Crunch recently reported about various VCs takes on Spotify and the leaps of faith they would have to take to invest or not invest in the firm. It makes for interesting reading, and crystallises a lot of my concerns into one succinct article.
The biggest problem Spotify faces is they're " not only trying to break the online music subscription curse, they’re trying to do something few have done on the Web. To date people have shown themselves unwilling to pay for content and premium services en masse."
While I'm as guilty as the next person in not paying a tenner a month for a sub, I just don't see the benefits yet, apart from the charity of keeping the company afloat. I think when they untether themselves from the PC - either with an iPhone app or an android app, you'll see people begin to consider the sub a bit more.
Sure you can have a massive hard drive for all your MP3s, or you can pay a tenner a month and listen to something new everyday on the go. It's compelling.
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