Spotify Tops Off 2013 With Freebies, Led Zeppelin, And A Year In Review

By Brian Parker

It has certainly been a formative year for the Sweden-based Spotify, if not a busy one for their marketing team. The streaming service received backlash from Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich back in October, veraciously speaking on behalf of burgeoning artists who receive notably low per-play payments. A variety of reports and infographics have provided breakdowns on the numbers (even one predicting the uproar back in 2010), but Spotify defended its business model as the spearhead for a new industry format, not to mention the company’s $1bn worth of paid-out royalties to-date.

Despite the hype, Spotify is charging forward into 2014 with today’s announcement of free streaming on mobile and tablet devices…with the catch of it being limited to shuffle play. This isn’t quite the premium user experience, but less obsessive music fans can take their music on the go without paying a monthly fee. The free mobile experience will allow users to shuffle playlists, artist catalogues, and pre-made playlists, much like its own version of non-terrestrial radio.

Today also brings the news of Spotify acquiring rights to feature the much-awaited Led Zeppelin catalogue, a powerful cap to the company’s hugely successful 2013. This announcement comes on the tails of Spotify boastfully launching Year In Review, which shows off the popular playlists, songs, and artists of 2013, while highlighting its user base’s growth in the last twelve months.

Though the company purports its own nascency, Spotify’s growth doesn’t seem to correlate with its reasoning behind the controversial compensation and royalty structure. While Spotify is clearly offering exposure to new artists, the back catalogues of major label artists seem to be the real beneficiaries of the $1 billion generated in royalties. Spotify’s efficiency in providing a universal source of free music may come at the risk of devaluing new art, continuing the struggle for creators who wish to implement, and not boycott, potentially supportive digital technologies.