Why Spotify's CEO isn't threatened by Apple's new streaming service

(Image credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Spotify)

published 8 June 2015

In an interview in this week's issue of Billboard magazine, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek explains why Monday's introduction of Apple Music isn't bad news for his company.

Apple Music will be available starting June 30, and will cost $9.99 a month — a comparable price point to Spotify's $10-a-month ad-free streaming service. Unlike Spotify, though, Apple Music doesn't have a free option — after a three-month trial period, users must pay to use Apple's streaming service. But Ek believes the competition is a good thing:

Apple will probably be pretty successful, but it doesn’t have to be at the expense of Spotify. If we think of this as an opportunity instead of trying to maximize the piece of pie we have today, the music industry will be many, many times bigger, and there won't be any arguments about how many percent we pay. When Apple starts doing streaming, streaming will start growing even faster. [Billboard]

Spotify has more than 60 million active users, Billboard notes, and about 25 percent of those users subscribe to the ad-free, $10-a-month plan. In the interview, Ek points out that in 2015's first quarter, streaming revenue was greater than that from music downloads. If Apple's streaming subscription service increases that revenue, it could be good news for the streaming industry and artists alike.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Stem Speed Reads

To continue reading this article...

Create a free account

Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.

Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.

Cancel or pause at any time.

Already a subscriber to The Week?

Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions.
with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.

Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us