MN3042QA: Spotify Business Report - Analysis and Recommendations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Spotify, a UK-based music streaming service. It begins with an introduction to Spotify's business structure, location, and key competitors. The core of the report is a detailed SWOT analysis, examining the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Further analysis explores Spotify's approach to corporate social responsibility, including its environmental and social initiatives, and its strategies for innovation and creativity in the music streaming market. The report concludes with recommendations for Spotify to improve its operations and expand its market presence, considering the competitive landscape and evolving consumer preferences. This report is a student assignment providing insights into business strategy and operations.

The context of business

Table of Contents
Part 1 ...............................................................................................................................................3
Introduction .................................................................................................................................3
Part 2................................................................................................................................................3
Swot analysis of Spotify..............................................................................................................3
Corporate social responsibility by Spotify...................................................................................5
Innovation and creativity in business...........................................................................................5
Part 3 ...............................................................................................................................................6
Recommendation ........................................................................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

Part 1
Introduction
In this report a company called spotify has been discussed. Spotify technology is a
Luxembourg based company, which provides music streaming services (Chaffey and et.al,
2019). Spotify offers is a UK based company which is indulged in audio streaming and media
services, its headquarter is located in London UK along with this it has various offices in 17
different countries. It is mostly present in Europe, America , Africa, Mauritius and also in Asia.
Apart from this, spotify provides different local music to the listener. This application can be
used in various devices such as mobile phones, tables, desktop etc. this spotify application is
available in free and paid version. In free version, user may face regular advertisement but in
paid version user will not have to face any kind of advertisements. By creating a spotify account
user can find and enjoy their favourite music. The major competitors of spotify is Sound
Cloud, Deezer, Tidal, and Pandora which are dealing in the same business of spoyify and they
are also expanding their location in different countries (Vonderau, 2019). The business culture
of spoify is also well managed and help the company to attain the goal it has a dedicated and
well managed team of HR who indulge in the business of hiring and recruitment . Their work is
to attract top skilled candidates towards the company who works to increase the profitability of
the company. Although it has a good marketing and finance team, marketers work in market and
collect the feedback of the customer. This report includes swot analysis of spotify and also the
corporate social responsibility played by this company. This report elaborated the innovative
and creativity in the business.
Part 2
Swot analysis of Spotify
Swot analysis is done in order to know the internal environment of the company. It
includes four elements which are as follows:
SWOT of Spotify:
strengths:
Spotify has strong brand and which they had got from their music streaming services. Even
though company is not that much old but business is growing rapidly and offering their digital

services to the mass users. Brand name is the biggest strength for the company. They are
effectively competing with their rival firms and providing them tough competition (Spotify
SWOT Analysis: Internal & External Strategic Factors., 2021). Spotify organize their business in
such manner that its music streaming market is growing day by day. Increased on the internet
users and online devices, customers get access over their favourite music through spotify mobile
application.
Weakness:
Major weakness of company is the payment agreement with rights holder which are affecting the
success of the company. In order to fulfil the demand of their targeted audience company have to
pay their producers which are producing digital content for them. It is the weakness because it
takes profitability of company which is earned through subscription. Spotify is highly dependent
on the internet and customers will able to enjoy services only if they are having good internet
connectivity (Duarte, 2019). In those areas where internet connectivity is poor and internet
services are expensive then it attracts less customers towards online services.
Opportunities:
spotify have lots of opportunities to expand in the global market. As company is focusing on UK
and ES markets and not having much presence in developing countries. Company can even
expand in developing countries markets and can earn good revenue from those markets. Spotify
can even expand their online services by launching new services in the market as company is
only focusing on music streaming services. Company can offer different digital content to their
customers. Company can even do partnerships with different brands which will help company in
increasing their market share and getting brand recognition. Partnership should be one carefully
so that company can get benefit out of that.
Threats:
The biggest threat to the company is the high degree of competition. Threat to this music
streaming company is from big technology firms (Rahma, 2020). Competitive environment can
reduce growth of the company. Competitors of company already have international presence and
also have power to penetrate the market. Legal disputes are also one of the threat to the company.
Spotify is facing legal restrictions in many countries. Company gets in trouble when they
experience legal disputes with big companies like apple.

Corporate social responsibility by Spotify
Corporate social responsibility helps company in improving their image in the eyes of
audience. Spotify takes measure to reduce waste which they are producing every year. Spotifty
performs great when it comes to sustainability. Company also support non-profit organization in
order to provide them funds or charity (Stevanović, Knežević and Kojić, 2018). Company also
enhance diversity and inclusion. Company also use social media platforms to showcase their
efforts in context of diversity. Company volunteer in the community events. They send their
employees so that they can provide voluntary services. Spotify has also made such policies
through which environment can get benefits. Company organizes environment awareness
programs in that they give knowledge related to the importance of environment and how
environment can be safe so that world has become better place to live. Company has also come
with waste management programs, under that company tries every possible thing so that waste
can be reduced.
Renewable energy is used by company so that environment can be safeguard. On regular interval
pollution are checked by company. They make sure that their business activities does not pollute
the environment in any manner (Abidin, Ilhamsyah and Barlian, 2018). Spotify also support their
employees and families. Company provide flexible working hours to their employees so that they
can balance their work and life effectively. Company provide parental leave to their employees
which can be taken in order take care of the children. Company also started healthcare campaign
in which they give education related to women health. Company is also supporting NGO who are
engaged in providing free education to children. Spotify helps them financially and emotionally
in order to serve the society.
Innovation and creativity in business
As spotify has gain popularity due to its innovation and creativity. The IT department of
spotify is indulge in bringing latest versions of the application which brings different versions to
the user and they can enjoy listening their favourite music (Tricahyono and et.al, 2019). For the
innovation and creativity spotify has provided premium version which gives unlimited music to
the listener and the can listen this music without internet, means they can enjoy their favourite
music offline. This provides an affordable platform to the user. Besides this, spotify has used
most innovative and creat6iver way in marketing so that they may promote their application to
numerous users. They have launched their freemium version of music which makes them

different from competitors. Company is focusing on providing easy access to the customers so
that more and more people will get to know about this company. As the company knows the
needs and demands of its customer thus they are providing creativity in their business, for that
they are providing an affordable platform to the user and company is working to give
advertisement free music to its user (Spotify, 2020). This company is focusing on bringing
innovation in sound, therefore it is giving podcast services and also storytelling feature so that
customers enjoy songs in high volume and it will not affect their health.
Part 3
Recommendation
Spotify has huge number of paid and registered users and they are active on the
application (Eriksson and et.al, 2019). As the features and marketing strategies of the company
is well organised but they should expand their business in different countries also should increase
their profitability. But when this company expand in other countries they have to make sure
about the taste and preference of the customers as the music industry is global and do not have
any boundary and barriers, so the company has to understand that all the people of different
countries do not listen English music they listen music of their own country which is in their
mother tongue. By giving variety of music spotify can make a place in the hearts of the
customers. To select the market, spotify has to conduct a research which support the choices of
the customers, although company has to imply aggressive plan to launch their application on
global market.
Conclusion
From the above report it can be concluded that this report speaks about the business .
This report concludes, the business structure, location and competitors as well. Apart from this,
swot analysis of the business is also mentioned in this report also the various corporate social
responsibility of the company is being elaborated here. How to bring innovation and creativity
in the business is discussed in this report.

REFERENCES
Abidin, A.A., Ilhamsyah, I. and Barlian, Y.A., 2018. Perancangan Promosi Fitur Premium Pada
Spotify. eProceedings of Art & Design. 5(2).
Chaffey and et.al, 2019. Digital marketing. Pearson UK.
Duarte, H.M.D.S., 2019. Equity research-Spotify Technology SA (Doctoral dissertation, Instituto
Superior de Economia e Gestão).
Eriksson and et.al, 2019. Spotify teardown: Inside the black box of streaming music. Mit Press.
Rahma, G.W., 2020. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING SPOTIFY TO TEACH LISTENING
COMPREHENSION IN NARRATIVE PODCAST (A PRE-EXPERIMENTAL
RESEARCH AT THE NINTH GRADE OF MTs ASSALAFI SUSUKAN IN THE
ACADEMIC YEAR 2020/2021).
Stevanović, S., Knežević, G. and Kojić, N., 2018. https://open. spotify.
com/track/4uUoBDl1kbvhH10thu2X4a. Економика пољопривреде. 65(4).
Tricahyono and et.al, 2019, May. The Impact of Viral Marketing on Consumers’ Intention to Use
(Case study: Spotify Indonesia). In 1st International Conference on Economics,
Business, Entrepreneurship, and Finance (ICEBEF 2018) (pp. 674-678). Atlantis Press.
Vonderau, P., 2019. The Spotify effect: Digital distribution and financial growth. Television &
New Media. 20(1).pp.3-19.
Online
Spotify SWOT Analysis: Internal & External Strategic Factors., 2021. [online]. Available
through: <https://www.rancord.org/spotify-swot-analysis-internal-external-strategic-
factors>
Spotify., 2020 [online]. Available through:
<https://www.owler.com/company/spotify#competitors>