Next Big Sound (a/o June 18th):
A lot has happened since Spotify launched in the US last summer. That includes more than 13 billion streams, according to the company, the addition of more than a million paying subscribers, a splashy apps launch, and generally huge amounts of publicity.
Here's what hasn't changed that much in the past year: the number of US-based music fans. Which means that a chunk of those 13 billion streams came from elsewhere. For example, Grooveshark, arguably a more direct competitor to Spotify than iTunes.
That's a 43.8 percent decline in unique visitor traffic in just one year, with the trend going sharply southward. During that period, others in the streaming space like YouTube and Pandora have been clocking very heady gains, and deeper competitors like Deezer and WiMP are also boosting traffic.
Then again, this is just one measurement stick, and a direct comparison to the app-based Spotify is nearly impossible. Indeed, Complete has its own methodologies and measurement flaws, and we've certainly pulled our hair out when things shift around. That said, the Compete dataset seems to loosely correspond to a decline in page rankings as measured by Alexa.
The political and legal backdrop is hard to ignore here. Just last year at Bandwidth in San Francisco, a Grooveshark executive complained to Digital Music News of a coordinated attempt by the major labels to prop Spotify, and bury Grooveshark. Sounds sort of like a conspiracy, especially given the completely different approaches towards major label licensing. Then again, the majors are licensed shareholders in Spotify, and all are aggressively litigating against Grooveshark.
Perhaps these are just the early results the majors had been hoping for.
Adam Wednesday, August 08, 2012
As if Compete or Alexa are at all accurate. The least you could do is use Quantcast, which is MRC certified. If you want Comscore numbers I'll send them to you
paul Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Please send/add whatever data you think will add to the discussion. I can host images, files, whatever's needed.
Here's Quantcast, pulled over roughly the same stretch.
/paul
10ten10 Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Gonna be problems with all the data sets
yet all 3 are showing declines.
half baked Thursday, August 09, 2012
what happened in Dec. 2011 that killed traffic?
Casey Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Actually I think Spotify, Rdio, and Rhapsody are killing Grooveshark. For a number of reasons. But I believe the biggest reason is because of Grooveshark's uncertain future. If you put a lot of work into building a playlist or library, you want it to be there in the future.
TheFuturist Thursday, August 09, 2012
Ahem... *cough* *cough* how about MOG? Why does every one always fail to list the best sounding music subscription service?!
Casey Thursday, August 09, 2012
Actually I subscrbed to MOG for several months, not bad. But I decided to just list 3 instead of listing every service.
Richard Thursday, August 09, 2012
Where is the Spotify overlay, to just show a point where Spotify entered the market and then not show its trend is misleading.
I started a new website in July 2011, perhaps that was the cause? :-)
What happened in December? Did GS stop advertising, did they forget to put tracking on, something changed, but you assume it is Spotify.
steveh Thursday, August 09, 2012
As a hardcore Spotify sceptic, I am happy to accept that if Spotify is pulling customers away from Grooveshark then that is a very good thing.
At last something 100% positive to say about Spotify!
FarePlay Thursday, August 09, 2012
Stevenh,
Here's the dilemma. Getting people to pay for music is without question a move in the right direction. At what price point where we balance fair compensation for the artist and viability for the provider is the dance.
There is no question that we are in a very tough place for musicians, songwriters, filmmakers, authors, etc.
Perhaps the only viable solution is an online service that is a co-operative owned by artists.
In some ways, with Spotify, we are replacing a category 5 hurricane with a category 3. The equity deals that Spotify negotiated with the major labels is going to make it very difficult for Spotify to meaningfully increase artists payouts when they are eventually controlled by stockholders.
Is Spotify a company that has promised more than it can deliver? And at what price to artists?
HansH Thursday, August 09, 2012
I never thought I'd live to see the day that Digital Music News would bring positive news about Spotify. And now even Steveh is happy ;)
Guy Eckstine Thursday, August 09, 2012
grooveshark killied grooveshark thankfully
Homegirl Thursday, August 09, 2012
I know it's a grey area of the law but I consider Grooveshark to be illegal. If your content is uploaded by P2P and you don't report to Soundexchange or provide royalty statments then you're illegal.
Their business model was always, "operate as rogue then get to a scale where the majors have no choice but to work with us."
If anyone has anything to add or rufute it is welcome.
LikAShot Friday, August 10, 2012
Grooveshark is already dead. We've seen this re-run before. Oh it ain't over though, b/c you better believe Shmaltzy & Schmaltzy LLP drain every last ounce before the doors close.
YAWN.
TJR Friday, August 10, 2012
I hope Grooveshark is dead, or dies soon. All they wanted to do was make money off of artists without compensating them.....they where just a bunch of "Greedy Bastards".
Spotify compensates artists. Many complain that their rates are too low, but I think that will change when there are more competing business's that follow their business model.
The Tim Channel Wednesday, August 29, 2012
I just got Spotify. I am quite happy with it. Have the app on my MacBook Air and two Iphones. Ten bucks a month is a small price to pay for the catalog access and streaming services IMHO. I have not always felt this way. I think my change of outlook has to do with the speed of internet streaming these days, as well as being nearly 55. I still have all the stuff from Itunes (30-40 odd gig) that covers my "era". Moving quickly into my golden years, I need access to Steely Dan, Pink Floyd and Rolling Stones that are done in instrumental variation. Nursing home music for the 60's and 70's generation.
i.e.
The Chill-Out Orchestra – Another Brick In the Wall - Original Mix
Enjoy.
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