– They are having a hard time in Spotify now, but it will be exciting to see how they cope with it. This is what streaming expert Arnt Maasø at the University of Oslo (UiO) tells news. On Monday, the news came that Spotify has decided to lay off 17 percent of the company’s employees. Which corresponds to around 1,500 people. In an open letter, managing director Daniel Ek writes that the decision has been taken on the basis of the economic growth that has slowed. Rising prices Arnt Maasø also believes that the situation in Spotify could mean rising subscription prices. – Norway is already among the most expensive countries to have Spotify in. So I think they will try to get more out of the subscription prices in this country. – Many, including Netflix, have found that many people use the same subscription in the family, but on different IP addresses. It is possible that Spotify will do the same, so that students or families who cannot afford to have their own subscriptions will be shut out, he says. Employees in all parts of Spotify will be affected by the downsizing, the company stated in an open letter on Monday. Photo: Reuters Furthermore, it is pointed out that Spotify’s competitors have not felt compelled to cut costs in the same way. – Spotify does not have as many legs to stand on as Apple, Meta, Amazon and many others. They have several sources of income, and are less vulnerable when it comes to streaming, says Maasø. More layoffs This is not the first layoff Spotify, which is, among other things, the main sponsor of the football club Barcelona, has carried out this year. In January, the company announced that the number of employees was to be reduced by 6 percent. In June, the company cut back due to changes in the podcast area. Maasø believes that there are several things that mean that Spotify has seen itself forced to implement more cuts, including that people cannot afford more streaming services as well. At the same time, Spotify’s investment in podcasts is mentioned. – Over time, I think Spotify has invested too heavily in the podcast part of its service. They wanted to enter and win the podcast market. So there are many who believe that they have overinvested, says Maasø.
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Spotify cuts – predicts price increase – news Culture and entertainment
