Wall Street Journal just held their WSJ.D Live conference and Spotify took a glorious stand against some of the music industry’s more questionable practices.
Both Spotify’s Chief Strategy/Chief Content Officer, Stefan Blom, and Global Head of Creator Services, Troy Carter, were in attendance, and they didn’t just sit quietly when presented the chance to speak out.
Contrary to Apple Music, TIDAL, and now Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify is holding fast to their free offering for users. Troy Carter says that “we don’t ever get to a world where everybody is paying for music.” He cites that some folks work hard to even afford to filling their gas tank, let alone purchase an ongoing music subscription, and he’s well aware that the free service is a standalone product, not just a method of converting users to paid subscribers.
Stefan Blom also chimed in to clarify that “free” for customers doesn’t mean that it doesn’t bring in revenue. “We are monetizing it, and we are monetizing it well. This ad-supported model works.”
And Spotify isn’t falling prey to the idea of platform exclusives either. They believe it to be a self-serving practice that prohibits the artist, and are flat-out refusing to play ball with Apple and TIDAL on that front.
“We don’t believe that it is good for the artist. We are not partaking in that game.”
H/T: Consequence of Sound