An analysis of Spotify's competitiveness as a brand in the Australian market. A project created by University of Sydney students.

1. ARTISTS
Spencer McLeod • Haydn Hickson • Sasha Allen • Olivia Bruce

2. PLAYLISTS
Building Spotify
Situational Analysis
Positioning
Competitive Landscape
Future Recommendations

3. HISTORY

4. SWEDISH BEGINNINGS
➤ Founded in 2006 by Swedish
entrepreneurs Daniel Ek &
Martin Lorentzon
➤ Core service in helping
consumers identify music,
songs and artists
➤ Driven by vision to end piracy

5. BUSINESS MODEL
➤ Operates on freemium model
➤ Acts as a legal alternative to
music piracy
➤ More convenient and cost
effective than physical
purchase of CDs or pay-per-
track options

6. APPLICATION & SERVICES
➤ Initial edge over
competitors was
interactivity and social
connectivity
➤ Personalised features,
such as “Discover,”
“Spotify Running” &
“Release Radar”
➤ Youth market captured
with first student
pricing for Premium
service in the U.S.

7. CURRENT POSITION

8. High Number of
Features
High Willingness
to Pay
Low Number of
Features
Low Willingness
to Pay
Tidal
Apple Music
Google Play
Music & Youtube
Red
Amazon Music
Pandora
Spotify

9. BRAND IMAGE

10. TARGET AUDIENCE
➤ Main consumers are
Millennials
➤ Demand customisation, ease-
of-use, and range of content
➤ Targets people across
demographics & needs
➤ Looking towards the future…
➤ Music fans seeking rich &
high-quality content
➤ Consumers switching service
providers
➤ Loyal listeners to Spotify

11. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

12. SPOTIFY VS APPLE MUSIC
➤ Similarities
➤ Service offering and value
➤ Catalogue size
➤ Exclusive content
➤ Offline sync
➤ Differences:
Strong Emotional
Connection
➤ Low levels of perceived risk
➤ Loyal customer base and
reputation
➤ Not dependent on streaming
service revenue

13. GOOGLE PLAY & YOUTUBE RED
➤ Google Play includes
YouTube Red subscription
➤ Similar catalogue size
➤ Similar commitment to
personalisation/
customisation
➤ Offline playback
➤ Poor interface design &
brand saliency

14. AMAZON MUSIC
➤ Higher price point (but
discounted for Amazon
Prime members)
➤ Less exclusive content
➤ Limited catalogue
➤ Low brand saliency

15. PANDORA
➤ Low-cost option
➤ High brand saliency
➤ Limited catalogue
➤ Failure to adapt to
streaming industry

16. TIDAL: A FUTURE THREAT
➤ Potential to be a major
threat because of:
➤ Provides deeper connection
with artists
➤ High-fidelity streaming
➤ Access to exclusive content
➤ Resonates well with millennial
audience
➤ Elicits emotional response
➤ Most innovative brand

17. CHALLENGES
➤ Lack of clear brand identity
➤ Means different things to different people
➤ Differentiation from its rivals
➤ Pricing & features unique to Spotify
➤ Customer conversion

18. RECOMMENDATIONS

19. SPOTIFY AMPLIFIED
THE ONE-STOP MUSIC SHOP
➤ Expanding the offering
➤ Giving consumers a platform
for all things music
➤ Brings music videos, full length
concerts, concert tickets and
merchandise all into one place

20. SPOTIFY AMPLIFIED: VIDEO
➤ Competes with YouTube music video monopoly
➤ Music videos, concerts, live-streams, interviews and other exclusive
content
➤ Available to paying users only
➤ Partnership with VEVO

21. SPOTIFY AMPLIFIED: CONCERTS
➤ Engage Spotify users with music events near their location
➤ Suggestions based on listening history
➤ Users notified when their favorite artists are nearby
➤ Purchase through application

22. SPOTIFY AMPLIFIED: MERCHANDISE
➤ Access to official merchandise from favorite artists
➤ Redirected to official artist websites to ensure authenticity
➤ Range of incentives include free shipping, discounted stock
and access to exclusive sales

23. SPOTIFY SWITCH
➤ App function to ensure easy
transfer of meta-data,
downloaded music and
playlists from any other
streaming service
➤ Rejects any negative stigma
or hesitation with switching

24. SPOTIFIED: THE LOYALTY PROGRAM
➤ Designed to reward paying
users for loyalty and
commitment to Spotify
brand
➤ Subsequently, this will
prevent users from
switching to competitors
when offered alternative
incentives
LOYAL GOLD PLATINUM
• 1 Year of
membership
• Merchandise:
free shipping
through Spotify
app
• Music: Exclusive
listens to
certain albums
before release.
Selected
albums only
• 3 Years of
membership
• Merchandise:
10% off all
items and free
shipping
• Music: Exclusive
listens to
certain albums
before release.
Selected
albums only
• Live Gigs:
Exclusive access
to pre-sales
• 5 Years of
membership
• Merchandise:
20% off all items
and free
shipping
• Music: Exclusive
listens to certain
albums before
release. Selected
albums only
• Live Gigs:
Exclusive access
to pre-sales and
discounted
tickets

25. SONGS FOR…
Q&A