Spotify, Welcome to Canada
After years of waiting, Canada has finally allowed Spotify to join the ranks of competitors like Deezer, Rara, Rdio, Slacker and Google Play. The introduction to Canadian market began September 30, five years after the Swedish company decided to expand globally.
Discovering new music has never been easier, and with all the features that Spotify offers, it is simple to organize playlists and share with friends. Spotify currently offers over 200 million songs from around the globe, and allows users to enjoy the music they specifically choose without worrying about wasting skips on artists they do not enjoy.
Over the years, Spotify has reduced the numbers for illegal downloading by providing ad-free service for premium users at an affordable price, even furthering the hassle-free, enjoyable customer experience.
“We spent a lot of time studying the market in Canada, and we know that Canada in terms of a music market is one of the most vibrant in the world, so we were really keen to treat this as not just another launch,” said Ken Parks, chief content and managing director, Spotify, in an intervie. “We’re going to be launching with the most comprehensive Canadian music catalogue in the world.”
Though there is criticism for music streaming companies—some pay between $0.006 and $0.004 for a single play of a track—Spotify reports that the company has paid over $1 billion (U.S.) to artists, while 70 percent of its total revenue goes to royalty payments.
“We think we have a great value proposition—all of the music in the world with you, anywhere on any device — for what is really the price of couple of pints. At the same time, we do live in a world where there is an infinite supply of music and where you can get it for free, be it radio, online or YouTube, or certainly, pirate sites,” said Parks. “But we want to make sure that we are providing value-add features and pricing this in way that entices people away from those bad places, so whether that is $10 U.S. or Canadian is an open question.”
