SPOTLIGHT: SPOTIFY'S STEVE SAVOCA

The subscription market is obviously gaining traction—what do you believe is most likely to accelerate and increase its growth? Do enough people understand what it is and how it works?

Steve Savoca: Consumers at a mass scale are beginning to understand the value of Spotify as the best possible music solution. They recognize the value of personalization and are soundtracking their lives while working out, commuting, studying, etc. Subscription is a much easier leap to make in the age of the smartphone.

What are your key tools for driving music discovery—of both emerging artists and catalog—within your service, and what new initiatives, if any, are you planning to serve this goal?
Personalization and discovery are an essential part of the Spotify experience. The programmed side of Spotify is incredibly valuable to our users and drives mass discovery. Playlists like Discover Weekly (a weekly playlist of undiscovered music tailored to individual user tastes), Fresh Finds (the most reactive new music bubbling under) and New Music Friday (the week’s newest and hottest new music) have become essential weekly habits for millions of our listeners.

Do you see streaming and sales (physical and/or download) co-existing for the foreseeable future, or are we transitioning fully to an “access” model?
While a full transition of transactional sales to access would certainly help to scale our business, the real opportunity is in monetizing the under- and non-monetized channels (think broadcast radio) where tens of millions of music fans reside. This would help to grow an even larger commercial music business than we have ever imagined. But yes, I do believe the physical and download business has more life left in it. This is particularly true of vinyl, which has proven to be a sought-after complement to the releases most coveted by streaming consumers.

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