Just because you can do it doesn’t make it a great business model. Take music streaming, for example.
Spotify, the world’s most popular streaming service, has been the target of some Internet ire in the last week or so. Neil Young, the creator of the legendary Pono digital media player (apparently he made some music too?), decided he didn’t want anything to do with Spotify.
Why all the righteous indignation?
Spotify pays Joe Rogan, a media personality / MMA commentator / master of “doing his own research,” over $100m to have exclusive rights to his wildly popular podcast.
Apparently, Mr. Rogan has some interesting ideas around COVID, vaccinations, and horse de-worming medication. Not particularly controversial topics 😬.
Why is this a big deal for Spotify?
Music streaming is a terrible business. Spotify has been bleeding cash for years and only recently turned a meager profit. The company had an operating margin of 1.4% in the first nine months of last year. No hockey sticks in sight.
The reason? It has to pay royalties to music labels for each music stream. The value from streaming accrues to the music companies, not to the streamers or artists.
Spotify makes its money not from streaming but from selling subscriptions and advertising.
This is where podcasts come in. Spotify pays millions to Joe Rogan because he brings in a massive audience in the highly desirable 18-34 demographic. Spotify offers targeted advertising on podcasts to its most important customers, advertisers. This makes much more economic sense than making tiny margins on each stream of, let’s say, “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
The risk to Spotify in this, slightly ridiculous, situation is not losing access to rock & roll; its not being able to monetize their investments in podcasting.
Spotify would rather you come for the music and stay for Elon Musk smoking some fine herb with his buddy Joe Rogan.
They have set up expectations for their users that they can stream any song at any time. So they have to double down on more economically viable content like the Joe Rogan Experience.
I am sure there is a Neil Young song about rocks and hard places..