dani w

 The Rise of Spotify 

Dani Walter  

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The Rise of Spotify  

In the past decade, there have been many interface options for storing and 

enjoying digital music. Some have been based around paying for each individual piece of 

music, while others have gone around the legal aspect and allowed users to download that 

very same music for free. The cloud-based application, Spotify combines aspects of both 

of these popular options and gives users unlimited access to 15 million tracks in the 

database. The people behind Spotify work with large and small record labels to license 

their music for streaming through the application. Because they offer three different 

options for three different levels of service, consumers of all price points can take 

advantage of Spotify’s large collection of music. The service is relatively new, and has 

only been available in the United States for a little less than three years (Spotify, n.d.). 

Spotify has gained popularity in several key demographics, but has not yet reached its 

critical mass point. There are many reasons why this music-streaming service is gaining 

notoriety, and why its rate of adoption should continue in an upward pattern.  

 Everett Rogers identifies five attributes of innovations in his fifth-edition book, 

Diffusion of Innovations (2003). The first attribute is the “relative advantage” of 

partaking in a certain technology or idea. Relative advantage is, “the degree to which an 

innovation is perceived as being better than the idea it supersedes,” (Rogers, 2003, p. 

229). iTunes is a excellent example of a predecessor of Spotify. At the time iTunes 

debuted, it had many advantages over its competitors, like the ability to purchase music 

through Apple’s online music store and sync that music to a computer or an iPod. Buying 

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MP3 files in the iTunes library is comparable to the price paid for a hard copy of the 

same CD in stores. As technology has progressed, bit torrent sites allowing the free 

download of media have become increasingly popular, and have stolen business away 

from places like the iTunes store. Free music may be a cost-effective option, but the 

quality of the files available is often extremely low, and makes songs sound poor in 

comparison to the paid versions. In recent years, users have been limited to paying for 

full, high quality CDs, pricey individual songs, or to download low-quality music for free 

and risk potential computer trouble due to viruses.  

Spotify is bridging the gap for consumers who are stuck between these two 

options. A free download of the app allows users to listen to all of the music in the 

database on their computer with ads from partners and advertisers. The next tier of 

service requires users to pay $4.99 a month, but removes all of the ads for a more 

appealing experience. Listening with no restrictions costs $9.99 a month, and is the top 

level of service offered. With the premium service, music can be listened to on any 

device, including computers, tablets and smart phones. There are no ads, and user’s 

individual playlists will sync to each device automatically. People in the past who paid 

roughly 10 dollars for a single CD can now listen to unlimited music monthly for the 

same cost. For avid lovers of music, the relative advantage is the large amount of money 

saved over time, and the quality of the music available. Spotify excels based on its ability 

to combine these two factors.  

Ability to operate on both Mac’s and PC’s makes Spotify compatible with nearly 

every device on the market. It also can be easily downloaded on smart phones and tablets. 

However, even more important than its compatibility with multiple operating systems is 

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its compatibility with user’s individual values. Downloading music illegally is frowned 

upon, and despite its popularity, there is still a taboo associated with the act of stealing 

from artists. While many people feel they’re able to justify that behavior, Spotify 

completely wipes out feelings of guilt by offering a legal way to save money on music. 

Users of Spotify have also adopted because of the cultural value they place on music, and 

how important it is in their everyday lives.   

The interface that Spotify has built is very user-friendly. The most basic function 

is the search bar, in which consumers are able to type anything they’re searching for, and 

the results will tabulate after pressing enter. This then allows users to see the results, and 

choose whether to listen to the song or album once, or drop it into a playlist. It also 

allows sharing of songs through Facebook, Twitter, text or email. Anyone with a basic 

knowledge of how to use computers and their applications will find it easy to navigate 

without any prior experience or a handbook. It’s user-friendly enough to be adopted by a 

large segment of the population, even those with little knowledge of other computer 

functions.  

According to Rogers, trialability is, “the degree to which an innovation may be 

experimented with on a limited basis” (2003, p. 258). Spotify’s trial policy may be one of 

the reasons why it has diffused so quickly in just a few short years. Other digital 

subscription programs such as “Hulu” and “Netflix” allow you one week to try out their 

products. In contrast, Spotify gives users a month of their premium services for free, so 

users may have time to fully test out the benefits of upgrading. It seems that this would be 

time enough for consumers to develop a sort of dependency on the innovation, and be 

reluctant to give it up after the free trial runs out.  

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Oberservability may be Spotify’s best-designed attribute. In its earliest days in the 

United States, Spotify teamed up with Facebook to become Facebook’s only endorsed 

music client. A typical Facebook timeline will display a real-time feed of what users are 

listening to within the Spotify application, and will allow other users to listen along with 

them if they desire. Spotify is very visible to users connected to Facebook, and other 

social media sites that Spotify optimizes with. While it is not visible in the way that a 

gadget or a new item of clothing would be, the choice to use Spotify is highly visible 

online, and that may encourage others to adopt it. One disadvantage to Spotify is that 

people who are friends with each other on social networks are likely homophilious in 

most ways. So while people in one network may hear about the innovation quickly, and 

adopt it, it may take a person who has the ability to bride social systems it to pass it 

along. 

The target audience for Spotify could be described as young, and connected. The 

first adopters in the United States seemed to be young, college-educated people, which 

goes in keeping with the theory that early adopters are better educated. These people have 

the ability to promote products within their dense personal networks. Word-of-mouth 

communication seems particularly important in youth culture, which is advantageous 

when combined with the social media aspect.  

Spotify is becoming immensely popular within certain demographics, and is very 

underrepresented in others. While no data has been specifically compiled for this topic, it 

can be seen that Spotify is the most popular within the 16-25 age group. These people are 

almost certainly better connected through social media than the age groups above and 

below them, and therefore, have a better chance of being exposed to Spotify’s advertising 

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through Facebook and Twitter endorsements. Spotify is also popular amongst people who 

listen to certain genres of music (e.g., indie/alternative). These people generally know 

about new music and new technology slightly earlier, because of their trend-setting 

nature. Most small music labels are available through Spotify, making it very easy to find 

and compile your favorite underground music. Based on Generalization 7-19 in 

Diffusions of Innovations, people who adopt innovations earlier are generally more 

connected within their individual social systems than people who lag in adoption 

(Rogers, 2003, p. 288). People who know about new music earlier diffuse this knowledge 

throughout their social systems and pick up ideas from their peers as well. This is the 

same idea that is at play within the diffusion of Spotify.  

Persons who fit the mold for early adopters are better connected in their social 

groups, have more money and are generally better educated (Rogers, 2003, p. 288). 

Based upon this statement, it is a likely conclusion to draw that the first users of Spotify 

in the United States had heard about people’s satisfaction with Spotify in Europe. These 

people are the innovators. Generalization 8-4 says that, “Opinion leaders are more 

cosmopolite than their followers” (Rogers, 2003, p. 362). These cosmopolite opinion 

leaders may read European news and travel abroad more often. They may also have 

contact with European friends that would expose them to new and unique technology. 

Europeans and Americans likely learn about Spotify from similar media sources. Upon 

hearing and adopting, these cosmopolites may pass on the knowledge to the people who 

will become early adopters.   

The app encourages users who are enjoying the product to post about it on social 

media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. These options are easily found within the 

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landscape of the interface, making it very simple to share with individual online 

communication channels. The real-time connection feature makes it possible for users to 

see what their Facebook friends are listening to at that moment. Clicking on the song that 

a friend is listening to will begin to play it in your own account. Spotify connects users in 

a way that no other social media app has done before. The diffusion process is increasing 

as more people of different social groups start enjoying and sharing their music with 

friends.  

For Spotify to reach critical mass, opinion leaders of all music genres would need 

to adopt the technology, and diffuse it throughout their groups. Given the innovation’s 

high relative advantage, most users should have a fairly low-threshold for adoption. In 

most musical social systems it should only take a few influential people to convince 

many more to join the service. Even people with a high-threshold for adoption may see 

enough acquaintances adopting Spotify that they feel comfortable enough to become a 

part of the early majority.   

A person who downloads the program, but doesn’t implement it into their life it is 

a barrier to critical mass. That person may have adopted the innovation, but hasn’t 

learned to use it yet, or doesn’t see the potential benefit. These people will have a higher 

threshold for their friends’ suggestions than others may have. The late adopter may 

actually see fewer benefits than people who adopted within the early majority as well 

(Rogers, 2003, p. 298).  

Spotify has ran into some legal issues over the past couple of years that may have 

slowed down the diffusion curve. In August of 2012, “Noend Innovations,” a Dutch 

company, sued Spotify for violating several peer-to-peer music sharing patents they have 

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within the United States (Lunden, 2012). This is not the first time that Spotify has been in 

court for patent infringement. Tech Crunch reports that Spotify has several patent 

applications under review by the USPTO (US Patent and Trade Office), but doesn’t have 

an approved patent attached to the company name yet. The money it takes for Spotify to 

repeatedly appear in court may affect the diffusion curve negatively. Money that could be 

used for marketing is instead being spent on court fees and payouts going to patent 

infringements.  

Spotify’s debut in the United States seems to have successfully combined the five 

elements of innovations.  It is specifically advantageous to users who love music and 

listen to many diverse genres. Previous users of iTunes and other music programs will 

find the unlimited selection of music cheaper and more accessible. Spotify is also 

compatible with the general belief that stealing is wrong, and gives a legal option to 

people who do not wish to pay for every album they download. It operates on both major 

computer operating systems and requires very little prior knowledge to benefit from the 

program. Spotify allows users to test out the premium service for a month, which is 

significantly longer than other programs of its type. This may encourage the user to 

continue using the service after the $9.99 a month payments have begun. Users of the 

program will enjoy “seeing and being seen” by other consumers. Sharing music is 

incredibly easy thanks to the real-time stream of music available within the interface. The 

visibility factor alone may encourage people to adopt that wouldn’t have otherwise. If a 

diverse demographic begins adopting the service, Spotify’s diffusion curve could really 

change rapidly.  

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Bibliography: 

Lunden, Ingrid . “Spotify Gets Hit With A Patent Suit From Nonend, A Dutch Peer-To- 

Peer IP Holder.” Tech Crunch . Aol Tech, 15 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. 

<http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/15/spotify-gets-hit-with-a-patent-suit-from-nonend-a- 

dutch-peer-to-peer-ip-holder/>. 

Rogers, Everett M. Diffusion of Innovations. 5th ed. New York, NY: Free Press, 2003. 

Print. 

“Spotify .” Mashable . Freebase CC-BY, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. 

<http://mashable.com/follow/topics/spotify/>. 

Wilson, Jeffrey , Jamie Yendino, and Sara Lin. “Creating Playlists .” PC Mag . Hewlett 

Packard , 30 Mar. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. 

<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2366868,00.asp>. 

I’ve lived in Oregon for 21 years, and have somehow never made it to Astoria before last weekend! I was amazed by how quaint and historic the architecture was, and by the artistic crowd that seemed to live there. Those houses on the hill are to die for!

I’m curious as to what the job market is like, and if any young people live there? 

When Crystal Mendez graduated from high school in 2006, she was optimistic about her future as a fashion designer. She could not have anticipated the challenges that lie before her in making it her career.

“In high school, my drawings and paintings were way above par, it might have given me a bit of a complex,” Mendez said.

Fashion design was her long-time passion, and she felt that to make a living at it, love of the art was all she needed.

“Was I ever in for a harsh blow,” she said. Having that just-graduated-from-high- school sense of accomplishment, she began to send sketches and designs to studios in and around Portland.

“No one said anything about my sketches, but always wanted to know what experience and credentials I had in the business, and I had none.”

Mendez continued to hunt for internships and apprenticeships around Portland. Her efforts again proved to be in vain without the backing of any course work. The experience was draining, but throughout that time she never forgot her goal.

Begrudgingly, Mendez started to apply to various schools around the Pacific Northwest with an apparel design and merchandizing program. Most of her close-knit family lives in the Willamette Valley so choosing Oregon State University was a natural .

Realizing it would be important for her to learn about more than just fashion design, Mendez elected to make her minor business administration. In hindsight she said having the coursework in business, “made all the difference.”

A glance through Mendez’s sketches, it comes as no surprise she got into the design program so easily. The bright and colorful drawings she had in her sketchbook were reminiscent of a taste reflecting another culture.

Pushing her stark black hair away from her eyes, Mendez explained her family’s history. Her young parents came to the U.S. from Michoacán, Mexico in the early 1980s. A few of her aunts and uncles were already living in Oregon, so Martha and Marcos Ochoa-Mendez joined them and began their life in Salem.

Their daughter, Crystal, was born a short time later, surprising her parents. Some of the earliest memories Mendez has of her childhood were of accompanying her parents to Chemeketa Community College. She would color in the back of the room while they attended classes.

“Crystal’s parents worked so hard to give her a good life through educating themselves so they could get better jobs,” said Mendez’s aunt, Coky Tolento, 39.

Mendez said knowing how hard her parents worked to succeed in their adopted country convinced her to put all her effort into her studies. If they could overcome a language barrier, financial troubles, and do it all while they had two children, she should be able to get her fashion designs out into the world.

Plastered across the walls of her apartment in Corvallis are various swatches of fabric and magazine clippings for inspiration. Mendez’s roommate, Michelle Thompson, a junior at OSU, likes the way they brighten their home. ,

“It doesn’t bother me at all. I love coming home and seeing new garments that Crystal makes,” Thompson said.

Thompson’s favorite part of the process is being used to fit Mendez’s new creations. Warning her to hold still while she pins the shirt that she’s currently working on, Mendez says she likes using her roommate to fit the clothes to since she’s a “very true size two.”

It isn’t all about sizes though. Growing up in Mexican culture, Mendez very much values traditional home-cooking and dining with her family.

“Every time I design a garment, I think of my aunts, and what would look good on them. Mexican women tend to be very voluptuous and I love that,” Mendez said.

Mendez thinks that her Latina flair is what sets her apart from the other students in her design classes.

“The trend right now is color, and I am all about color,” said Mendez.

After almost two years of being enrolling in merchandising and design courses, Mendez has been invited to attend her first real design seminar in New York this summer.

“I finally had coursework and experience to speak of, and they wanted to meet me.” Mendez explained. These kinds of seminars are the prerequisite to designing for a brand-name label.

Mendez seems confidant that after a summer of designing under the big names of fashion, she’ll be able to sell her designs and begin to pay off college loans.

Even more than paying back debt, Mendez is interested in helping out members of her family who haven’t been as blessed as she has been. Someday she hopes to contribute her time and services to the Chicana/Latina Foundation and help girls like herself attend college.

“I’ve learned now that what sets me apart is being a Latina. I hope to one day be recognized as a voice in fashion, and a role models for Latina women all across the U.S.,” she said. 

I am a third generation bank teller. The desire to count other people’s money for a living has passed from my grandmother, to my mother and then in turn to me. When I was of working age, I ran out and got myself my first job as a teller. As satirical as that may sound, I was truly fortunate to learn about money and wise spending habits at the young age of 15.

Working at the credit union taught me so many things that other young adults may not have the opportunity to learn. I’m very accustomed to working in a professional environment, and have a handle on things like always being on time, and never leaving my cash drawer out of balance.

Perhaps the most important thing I’ve gained from these past several years though is insight- Insight into my future career, and what I am really passionate about. I won’t be satisfied working behind teller row for the next five years. What will satisfy me is getting to work around creative people, in a youthful office, all while developing my writing and researching skills.

Being a teller has given me insight into spending habits of other young people, but I’m very much ready to take my experience into a field that will allow me to grow creatively as well as professionally.

College classes have been the highlight of my last three years in Corvallis. They’ve taught me to love playing around with graphic design, and how it can be truly fascinating to try and use English correctly. This year I want to bring as much personality and talent as I can to Brass Media, but more than that I would like to concentrate on listening and learning from people with more experience than I.

I have some pretty incredible friends, who are doing big things.

My first video for NMC351

Part One: 

I will be using the social media tool Pinterest for the focus of my final project.

To me, Pinterest seems to be on the forefront of the newer social media sites. It looks as though it’s fairly established within the group of tech-savvy young women on the Internet, but it has the potential to reach so much further than just this group. The site itself is genius, and so simple to use. Instead of using the “bookmark” function that’s built into every computer, they ask you to post it to their website, so everyone can see what you’re interested in bookmarking online. Originally I saw the site being heavily trafficked by wedding planners, interior designers and fashion designers, but in recent months it seems like it’s becoming fairly popular regardless of your specific interests.

There is a section for nearly every interest that people on the Internet might share and want to interact about. A couple examples are, DIY & Crafts, Cars & Motorcycles and Interior Design. Even those few categories listed sample a fairly large cross-section of the population that could use this website.

Two of my roommates are DHE majors, specializing in fashion merchandizing and design. They were the ones to turn me onto this website, since they really wanted to share their creativity with other students in their major. This got me thinking about the ways this website could be utilized in the DHE classrooms. It could be very useful for collaborating about new fashion trends, or interior design decorating pieces. Instead of professors simply speaking about what they find to be interesting trends, they could show their students and then exchange in an interactive way.

I’m interested to see how many professors may actually implement this strategy into their classrooms and the kinds of effects it will have on their student’s educations.

Final- Part Two: 

There are several things that would make Pinterest a useful tool in class, but also things that may be distracting in a school setting. Among the things that people could find very advantageous about utilizing the site would be the ease of use. I think one of the best aspects of the site is that it’ similar to a tangible bulletin board, but is virtual instead. Two of my roommates are design majors, and use actual bulletin boards to “pin” fashion trends on. If they were able to use Pinterest as a part of their classes, they wouldn’t need something besides their computers in class.

Websites like StumbleUpon and Delicious have a similar feel to them, but have much different interfaces than Pinterest does. I think of StumbleUpon as much more of an addictive interest site. It’s a great way to find things that interest you, but there’s very little that is social about it. Delicious is another site that could be very comparable. I think that the creators of Pinterest were very deliberate in their theme design, making it unmistakably feminine. The design alone seems to encourage members of the site to pin things such as outfits, or interior design ideas.

My only critique of the site is the specific demographic it targets. Of course as an individual user I can really appreciate that I’m in the target audience, but when talking about using it in a classroom, it could be less of a positive. I’d assume that the ratio of women to men using the site would be about 2:1. Men could potentially feel as if it were a site designed for a female. 

I had no idea there were all these sites Carrie! I think it’s cool that there are places for Social Networking games to come together and display a product that’s very much “in Vogue” right now. I’m happy that I got to see your post, because I’ve wondered many times how in the world to find new apps coming out either for the iPhone, or for Facebook. It’s nice to see that a lot of them are stored in the same place. 

carrie3306:

smosunmc2011:

As we’ve talked about in class, for Part V on “What’s Social about Games?”, we’ll be talking about whatever you want to talk about. I’ll do the first lecture on 15-Nov to introduce the subject. From there, we’ll talk about the things you post on your Tumblr.

The assignment in brief is for you to…

The first website I found was The Social Gaming Network (SGN). This site is a publisher and developer of social mobile games. SGN says, ‘connectivity is key, and by bringing gamers and developers together, SNG leads the way toward a more meaningful and socially-engaging future’. They were even featured on the “favorites” list by the New York Times. http://blog.sgn.com/index.php

The second website I found was the Social Gaming Hub (SGH). SGH gives the latest reviews, news updates, events and press releases about the social gaming industry. This including sites like Facebook, iphones/iPads, gaming investments, gaming events and more.  http://www.socialgaminghub.com/

The third website is IGN. IGN is pretty much an all inclusive gaming site. It gives cheats, reviews, video games, movies and more. I have personally never used it but a friend of mine told me it was his favorite website to use when it came to his gaming. http://www.ign.com/

The last website I found is called Inside Social Games. This website gives the ‘inside’ news on Facebook, social games, mobile apps, virtual goods and data. http://www.insidesocialgames.com/

I’m always so interested to hear about new social media sites from anyone. It boggles my mind that there are so many startup companies out there trying to get their big break from Internet traffickers such as myself. While ShareThrough isn’t a site that I’d use right now, it’s something for me to remember down the road if I’m working for a company who wants a video to go viral. Even compared to when I was a freshman in high school several years ago, there are already so many new avenues through which social media travels. 

laurenfay1211:

smosunmc2011:

Question 1 focuses on the phenomenon of “going viral”.

In this part of the course we looked at the viral phenomenon specifically from the standpoint of how this constrains and defines the very nature of communicating a message in the social media. The possibility that a media asset can go viral…

Julie, I agree with you about the sharethrough videos. I had no idea that this website existed until class, but I think it’s truly remarkable how much they can help people out. They can really launch a brand or idea and make it successful. They have proved that they can deliver you’re word to the public. When you hear success stories like sharethrough, thats when you can trust a company. So far they sound like a very trustworthy platform.