With D’Angelo seated at a piano and jamming for Spotify’s big announcement event on Wednesday, someone could have confused Spotify for a music company.
But oddly, the reason D’Angelo was there, tapping away on the piano, is that Spotify was announcing it was no longer a music company — at least, not exclusively. It will include the spoken word in podcasts from WNYC and others, and add video to take on rivals like YouTube and Tidal and potentially earn more money. It will also include some innovative features like a program that can match playlists to a runner’s pace. Spotify is going multimedia.
That’s because Spotify has to pivot, or risk losing its relevance. CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek led off the event with nostalgia about how people experience music in their lives. Then, he veered sharply.
“Life, as you all know, is not linear. It’s quirky,” he said.
The message was clear: Spotify wants to be a platform, and that means adding video and the lucrative advertising that comes with it.
