1. Task 5: SWOT Analysis (LO3)
Background Information on Spotify itself:
Spotify is a commercial music streaming service providing digital rights managementrestrictedcontent from record labels including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group and
Universal.Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had approximately
10 million users as of 15 September 2010,about 2.5 million of whom were paying users. ¹
Music can be browsed by artist, album, record label, genre or playlist as well as by direct searches.
On computers, a link allows the listener to purchase selected material via partner retailers. ¹
A six-month free trial period is activated upon account registration or first login with a Facebook
account, allowing the user to listen to an unlimited amount of music supported by visual and radiostyle advertising. After the trial, Spotify has a listening limit of 10 hours per month, divided into 2.5
hour weekly portions (unused hours carry over). ¹
Strengths of the MP3 product:
This particular mp3 player is unique in the sense that it streams music from the internet through
means of Spotify, which will prove effective in attracting the attention of the consumer who are
categorised in the age group of 10+ as music has no age limit!
Another strength would be that it is linked to Spotify which means
that the consumer can obtain music instantly through this
programme at any time of the day. The fast streaming programme
is embedded into the mp3 player, which makes it even easier for
the audience to download music as they do not have to go to the
effort of downloading the app. Apple devices also have a similar
feature where iTunes is already installed on the device. However,
they do not have Spotify unless you download it from the app store
which is rather inconvenient and time consuming for the audience
of the product.
Weaknesses:
A weakness to the mp3 player could be that without internet access the Spotify linked to the
product will become difficult to use as the consumer will not be able to download any music and will
have to rely on the music they already have in their library. Another weakness could be that the mp3
player could be a distraction as the consumer may have other tasks that they have to fulfil and it
they are listening to music they may defer from these tasks which may be important. Also if there
are weather problems occurring it may interfere with the internet and therefore the audience will
not be able to stream any new music until the connection has been fixed. This may irritate those
who are paying £10 a month for the premium subscription of Spotify.
Opportunities:

2. Certain opportunities may arise that could potentially make the product more successful in the long
run as Spotify may introduce a seasonal aspect to the programme such as Christmas songs,
valentines songs as well as music from films and musicals that are popular at the time making Spotify
a modern and up to date. The consumer would appreciate this element and may convince them to
purchase the mp3 player solely on
this aspect. The target market of
the mp3 player ranges from 10+,
which means that the product is
marketed towards a wide range of
individuals, as opposed to a select
group, which is a good selling point
and is also an opportunity to
expand their profit region and
increase their sales of the stated
product. Apple products also have a universal target market, so it may be challenging to go against
this multi-million dollar company, but a marketing strategy would have to be put into place before
the product would be promoted. The development in technology is also another great opportunity
for the mp3 to become an instant success, as sales and offers could be included with the purchase of
the product, for example, ‘20% off of the mp3 player if you sign up to Spotify Premium’. This is an
incentive for the consumer to buy the product; therefore, more sales will be initiated and in turn,
the popularity of the product will increase, which will put it on the competitive market with Apple.
Threats:
It is clear that this product (mp3 player) may face certain threats posed by existing competitors in
the market, including Apple that target a similar audience with a similar product range. However,
completion can be a good thing as it keeps the companies on their toes and where they are
constantly coming up with new ideas regarding how they
can be the most popular company in the technology market.
Also another threat could be that other companies may
issue products that are cheaper than this particular mp3
player which may put the profits down, and will result in
consumers choosing the cheaper option as they see it as
value for money. Also, there may be a music streaming
website that may be less money than using Spotify, which
means that the ethos behind the product will become
obsolete if a new music streaming app becomes more
popular, which will put the company out of business.
Another threat could be that the mp3 player may need
regular software updates in order for it to run efficiently,
however, if this is done frequently, the consumer may get
irritated by it and from this; they may become disinterested in the product.

3. ¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotify