Music Streaming has changed the way people listen to music forever. The two main powerhouses that have taken over this industry are Apple Music and Spotify. With Spotify being the first service to offer this kind of platform and Apple Music being the first popular digital music medium, they are at tight odds with each other. There are many reasons that both can be seen as superior to the other. No matter which side anyone is on, there is no doubting the successful relationship Spotify has with college students. Spotify, as one of the leading music streaming services, opens a Pandora box to the world of sound. With such a platform one would think Spotify is geared towards all types of users. And while in retrospect this holds true, with their focus on customization and hyper local targeting. However, the two reasons aforementioned are the reason why Spotify works so well with the specific target market of students and young business professionals.
Student users are the majority of Spotify users, especially students from the ages 18 to 24. Generally, however, this segment ranges from the ages 13 to 24. They still do possess a great deal of purchasing power even if not financially independent, as most students aren’t. Even if they are completely independent, Spotify makes efforts to make it accessible to these individuals. For example, with their basic free service and their half-off prices specifically targeted for students. The psychographic element that comes with this specific group is a very active lifestyle. These individuals are always doing an activity whether it be for academic or social purposes. And Spotify fits perfectly as the background noise to their workouts, study sessions, and partying. Now on to the Gen Z’s predecessor; Millennials.
These young business professionals are usually college educated white collar workers who make around 50,000 dollars a year. Similar to their younger counterparts these individuals are always on the go. They are ambitious and tech-savvy and probably spend a considerable amount of time on their technological advices. Both groups do not have a significant gap between gender use but, women do have a slightly larger usage bracket. Geographically speaking both segments typically come from first world, “super-power” countries such as United States and United Kingdom.
Whether a consumer uses a free or premium account, 30 million plus songs are at their disposal. On a preliminary basis one would say Spotify offers an expansive selection of musical content. And they would be correct, but Spotify provides so much more than that. From a very customizable and easy to use format to a following system to connect with friends, Spotify becomes not only a service but an experience. The hyper customization and personalization of Spotify provides insight to the motivation to customer purchases. To Spotify’s primary target markets, individualism is a keystone value. With specialized content tailored uniquely to each customer, Spotify meets the needs of all across the board. And with their aforementioned student half off deal what more could a consumer want?