Like so many other tech companies following the Netflix success story, the music streaming service Spotify has also analyzed that they have to grow and own their own material. Their biggest expense is what they pay for song rights and what they earn most is subscribers. Through its own podcasts, the company wants to get more paying customers and at the same time avoid paying money to other entertainment companies.

Currently, there are 700,000 podcasts on the platform and the company estimated an astounding $ 400 million last year on the venture. Having own podcasts should also increase the company's advertising revenue. But it is a nice balance sheet for Spotify to want more paying customers, who pay to avoid advertising interruptions, insert advertising into podcasts and launch paid recommendations of music - read ads - to their subscribers. The question is how many of the subscribers who reject the "recommendations" or who welcome them.

It is also worth noting that Spotify continues to be very sound focused and in a position when Apple, Google and Amazon are competing with film, video and music. If the goal is to become one of the big entertainment companies, it is difficult to avoid moving images, or audio books for that matter.

Challenged by Tiktok

But the company is also challenged by children's favorite Tiktok's owner Chinese Bytedance. They are now talking with several record label giants such as Warner and Universal music to launch a music service. It's a challenge that strikes where it hurts Spotify; in emerging markets such as China and India where the company does not dominate - and also with an ambition to reach a younger audience. Just like Facebook, Spotify risks becoming a service for the elderly.

Plays down the fake stream

That it is easy to buy fake streams on services that Spotify has bubbled for years in music magazines in the United States. Bribing for radio plays, "payola", was common in radio's heyday. Nowadays it is talked about Playola; to pay to be seen on the right lists on Spotify and other streaming services and thus get a larger part of the listening cake on Spotify.

Spotify itself plays down the importance of fake streaming today and the CFO tells DI digital that it is about a "tiny" part and that "financially it has no major impact at all". But just as Twitter and Facebook tried to get rid of fake accounts and bottoms, the luck has now come to streaming services. In its quarterly report, the company is forced to mention various risks to the company.

As a threat to the businesses, Spotify lists precisely their opportunities to get a correct picture of users and manipulation of streaming and user accounts and unauthorized use of their services. For a long time, Facebook and Twitter maintained that they had no responsibility for what was done on their platforms - that defense has died out a long time ago. It is possible that Spotify itself does not see it as a "significant" financial risk, but for customers it is about knowing that you are not part of someone else's fraud.