In a call with investors Tuesday morning, Spotify CFO Paul Vogel said that the company’s podcasting business is on track to (finally) become profitable. This follows a year of deep cuts to the podcasting arm, including the dissolution of Gimlet.
As part of its ongoing deal with Spotify, FC Barcelona is once again featuring an iconic artist on its jersey for the big El Clásico match coming up on October 28th. It all started with Drake last year, but this time around it’s the Rolling Stones. The kits are on pre-sale in a few days if you need to get some satisfaction.
In the not too distant future, Spotify is expected to roll out a new subscription plan priced higher than its existing Premium tier. New logos uncovered by Chris Messina make it all but certain that it’ll be called “Supremium.” That sounds pretty goofy, but whatever.
Spotify’s Supremium will reportedly bundle together numerous perks including, finally (and I mean finally), the launch of lossless audio. If you’re reading this and happen to know more, you should slide into my Signal inbox at (845) 445-8455.
I get the sense that Robert Kyncl, the CEO of Warner Music Group, feels there’s room for the price of music streaming services to go up.
TIL the Spotify mobile app allows you to play a unique version of the iconic Snake game that munches through the cover art for every song on a playlist of your choosing. Just head into the settings (the three dots) and tap on “eat this playlist.”
I’ve set myself a challenge to complete all my personal playlists without dying. It’s going poorly.
“Apple’s artificial constraints are stifling and we know our users deserve better,” Dustee Jenkins, Spotify’s public affairs officer, wrote in a blog post today.
Jenkins sounds cautiously optimistic about the EU’s Digital Markets Act. But until similar rules are enacted elsewhere, she writes:
Apple denies consumers’ ability to choose for themselves, forcing them to pay more for apps, limiting their user experience and preventing them from hearing about cheaper options.
I’m firmly in the camp that says the evolution of music is always good. It’s through that lens I find stories like this one from The Wall Street Journal on Friday interesting.
It describes how music streaming has led to shortened songs, earlier choruses, longer albums, and cross-genre collabs. Much of the piece echoes things the hosts of Switched on Pop described in an interview with The Verge in 2019.
Spotify has partnered with late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver to launch Strike Force Five. The proceeds will go to benefit the staff of their shows, who have also been out of work due to the ongoing Hollywood strike.
The music streaming giant has now rolled out its DJ beta — which creates and commentates on an ever-updating personalized playlist — to 50 markets around the world.
Spotify Premium subscribers in any of the countries listed can now access DJ from the Music feed in the English-language version of the app.
