This SWOT analysis examines a proposed new MP3 player that would stream music from Spotify. Strengths include the innovative streaming feature, ability to undercut Apple's prices, and potential to break into the market. Weaknesses are lack of offline functionality, potential need for dual storage of personal music, and lack of advanced features. Opportunities exist to compete with Apple on price and emulate Spotify's success, while threats include increased royalty demands and hacking risks from internet reliance.

1. Marketing & PR
Task 5 – SWOT analysis
Patrick Gouldsbrough

2. Strength
• The producer of the product has been bold when deciding on the devices streaming service, which is a relatively untested
feature in the market and one that could easily backfire on the producer. Spotify is tested on the initial website and a few
devices but never on a direct stream basis, this is relatively new technology. However, if this is groundbreaking and bold
innovation, the point about a cheap device I made earlier wouldn’t be valid anymore, due to the price been high for this sort of
product, especially if it’s brand new and unseen on the market.
• You can undercut Apple with the use of free songs on Spotify, compared to the pay to download format of iTunes.
• This is a unique device that hasn’t been made before, it could break the market, due to the amount of people who want to try
this product.
• A company link with a business like Spotify is good publicity for both of you because they are getting someone to take their
product to a new medium and target demographic and you have found a company to provide the source of music for the MP3
player.
• The fact that it’s an MP3 player means that it might be relatively cheap to make and therefore cheap to sell. People need a new
and innovative design as an alternative to the iPod. For all the sales you lose to Apple on quality, you make back on price with
this new product on the market.
• The internet feature is a bold and unique design; most MP3 players still on the market only offer songs from the consumers
library, not the internet.
• This company that are challenging Apple for market domination might spur on other companies to make products like this one
and change the whole market and therefore make these products which consumers want, not Apple products and due to the
cheap nature of these products, it might bring a little value into the market, unlike when Apple had domination.

3. Weakness
• If you need internet to stream the music, what happens when it’s offline, can you download an offline service or will you not be able
to listen to music without the connection.
• People might want a feature where you can stream Spotify but also put in their own music, like a dual-purpose device.
• From an MP3, you can only get audio, from other products that have come before this one, a video display has been offered. I’m not
sure if the consumer will have a high demand for this sort of thing, they might want a more technologically advanced product (video,
Bluetooth, etc.). Using an MP3 would be, in my opinion, going backwards in the market, which consumers don’t want to go for
before they’ve had a taste of the technologically advanced times.
• What has made Apple so successful is that they have improved over time, I think this venture is a bit bold and something a little
simpler should be the focus and as the company grown, the product range will too, it’s maybe a bit too experimental for a first
product.
• A company as unknown as one like this will not be received well from consumers. The thing about Apple is that they have been
established as a quality assured and popular brand, where as a new company in the same market who haven’t made any prior
products won’t fair too well. The only consolation in this case is that Spotify are involved in this project but they are more
established in a digital music market, rather than out and out technology.

4. Opportunities
• If the product is cheap enough then there is the opportunity to make this product into a rival for Apple products, however, if it’s
expensive or as expensive, I can’t see how it can compete.
• The Spotify streaming service leaves a unique opportunity that might be emulated by other companies. This might be more of a
positive for Spotify, who have the music, rather than the company that made the product first.
• The internet streaming version enables the opportunity to make the product better as it goes along, although an offline MP3 player as
the first product might be better because there are few areas you can improve on if not.
• From the first MP3 product, there are opportunities to make further products with more changes on them. There are lots of possible
avenues to explore, such as: a device that allows vide as well, a device that allows the consumer to store and play their own music that
can be easily shifted between devices or maybe a product that is very cheap to make and sell and the profit is made by the mass
market that buy it. Despite Apple been popular in the market, the price of their products puts a lot of consumers off so they are
relatively mass market but due to the big price tag of their products, they don’t have to sell as many to make big profit margins.

5. Threat
• This product might lead to more success to Spotify than they have already achieved, this might lead to artists demanding more from
Spotify to have them on the streaming version which may mean that Spotify increase the price of use for your product on future
ventures or this one.
• Using the internet leaves you open to the site going down and the service and/or the device been useless during this time. Spotify also
has a premium version which requires premium, prevention of hacking must be thought about, due to the consequence of stolen
details if a hack does occur.
• If the product is cheap enough then there is the opportunity to make this product into a rival for Apple products, however, if it’s
expensive or as expensive, I can’t see how it can compete.

6. Threat
• This product might lead to more success to Spotify than they have already achieved, this might lead to artists demanding more from
Spotify to have them on the streaming version which may mean that Spotify increase the price of use for your product on future
ventures or this one.
• Using the internet leaves you open to the site going down and the service and/or the device been useless during this time. Spotify also
has a premium version which requires premium, prevention of hacking must be thought about, due to the consequence of stolen
details if a hack does occur.
• If the product is cheap enough then there is the opportunity to make this product into a rival for Apple products, however, if it’s
expensive or as expensive, I can’t see how it can compete.