Nice to have someone like Spotify electrifying the whole field..

Mika

One possibility is to find a business model that is appealing to the operators who are really not getting their share (in their minds) from the big fellas. A long-term commitment to an operator could bring free or heavily discounted mobile Spotify access… That would be a differentiator for the bit pipe vendors.

An intriguing scenario is also Google: will they really be content to be out of the online and mobile music scene with its currently underutilized advertising potential?

Or how about Liberty Media? They control 49 % of DirectTV and 40 % of Sirius XM (with an option for another 11 %). Spotify would give them access to an entirely new device class and audience. Spotifty would also let them enter the European market in which they are still weak.

In any case, it is hard to see Spotify survive AND remain independent. Given the geography and market developments, the odds-on favourite buyer to me is Nokia. They want to own the space, they have the war chest, and, badly need a shot in the arm. The factor slowing them down might be the heavy investment in Comes With Music and Ovi and the inability to admit they have mucked it up.

Cheers, J.

Your article mentions “Apple” 19 times, but I wouldn’t underestimate Google and its Android platform. Recent reports claim that by the end of the year there will be almost 100 different types of Android handset (as well as Android-powered netbooks and toasters), compared with perhaps a couple of variations on the ipod/phone Apple gadget. This will provide for a massive ramp-up of people using Spotify for Android. Perhaps the future of music will be more like the current state of videogames: two companies own the platforms (Microsoft and Sony) while the publishers release their product on both. Of course there are some exclusives only released on one platform, but we already see “itunes exclusives” and even a few “Spotify sessions” now (ironic perhaps that Spotify now has over 500 iTunes exclusive tracks!)

1. Creating the first widely accepted mobile streaming service
2. Creating the first massive installed base with a high usage ratio on the “old-skool” mobile platforms. There are apps that can claim a high installed base, but very few that would claim any significant usage base. Even Skype on mobile doesn’t seem to be catching on that well. Am I right?

It seems to me that Spotify has opened up a vulnerability in Apple’s iPhone-strategy, at least temporarily. Making Spotify quickly available on non-iPhone handsets would weaken Apple’s position against it’s mobile competition. Nokia and other old-skool handset manufacturers should see Spotify as a godsend, allowing them to charge into the music scene and get them out of the wilderness. By the same token, Spotify could increase their “installed base” massively.

So 3G technology allowing, maybe the decisive blows in this match will be played out in the mobile arena?

• Creating an open system that would increase Spotify’s mass past iTunes
• Creating an ecosystem around music data (as social objects)

You can read from above what I think about those approaches. ;)

Here’s another take on the situation, which can further help you think about the situation and where it’s moving http://www.arcticstartup.com/2009/01/07/will-the-future-itunes-look-like-spotify/

Thanks again for the quality blogging.

Ville.