This document compares the costs of a Spotify subscription versus purchasing music individually on iTunes. A Spotify student subscription is £60 per year, while the same 112 albums downloaded on Spotify would cost around £1,120 on iTunes. Spotify's Discover Weekly feature recommends 30 new songs per week, which would be £1,560 per year to purchase individually from iTunes. While Spotify offers benefits to consumers, there is a question of whether artists suffer financially from streaming services versus individual song sales.
4. I have 112 albums downloaded on Spotify.
This would cost around £1,120 on iTunes.
5. Spotify’s Discover Weekly recommends 30
new songs per week.
At £0.99 per song this would cost £1,560 per
year on iTunes.
6. Spotify also offers collaborative playlists, the
ability to follow your friends, and tailored
recommendations based on everything you
like to listen to.
Where’s the competition?
7. As a consumer, this ‘open access’ is fantastic.
But if I’m reaping the benefits, are the artists
suffering?
