I love me some Spotify and I keep trying to think of ways to make sure it thrives. And one scenario would be that it merge with Netflix. Apparently, Spotify has a real problem with Apple mooching off it because of a 30% VAT it imposes on any online transaction via its devices.
Or something like that.
Anyway, the point is — I could see a lot of synergies if NetFlix and Spotify became one user interface. It would be an all-encompassing user steaming media experience.
Though, I will note that one interesting addition to this combination would be Siris XM. I would definitely like access to Howard Stern via my Spotify account. That would be pretty cool.
The whole TV world is obsessed with the battle over streaming. I think that not only is the whole streaming economy based on a lie, but it’s not long for this earth — it’s going to be soon replaced by the chatbot revolution.
Soon, instead of paying $15 a month for all this streaming content, you’re going to pay the same amount for access to the full body scans of your favorite stars that a chatbot will use to spit out very, very specific content.
I have no idea when this transition will happen, but it is going to happen. I suspect that at some point within the next decade. It may be delayed, of course, if we have a fucking civil war in late 2024, early 2025. But I seriously doubt that is going to happen.
What is more likely to happen is America will just drift peacefully into autocracy and, as such, the transition from streaming to AI generated TV and movies will happen a lot quicker than it might happen otherwise.
Apple has a huge amount of money tucked away. In fact, I think it’s about as much money as the U.S. Federal government has on hand at any particular moment.
As such, logically, Apple would make some big corporate purchases with all that cash. To me, the logical acquisitions would be Netflix and Spotify. At the moment, Netflix is trading at a historic low and Apple buying it would be a great way for them to build on the success of Apple+. Right now, Apple+ is little more than a very successful vanity project and buying Netflix would give the company a huge foothold in the entertainment business.
Meanwhile, buying Spotify would be a nice fit with Apple’s existing Beats and iTunes services. It would be quite beneficial to Apple’s bottom line to fuse iTunes with Spotify’s huge audience.
What’s more, if you really wanted to get all Steve Jobs about it — that is, if Tim Cook had any vision — they would make one uber streaming service that combined Netflix, Spotify, iTunes and Beats into one tidy one-stop-shop for all of our entertainment needs.
It would be pretty cool if this new service not only allowed you to stream music, but the videos to go with that music as well. It would be a direct competitor to YouTube with a far better UX / UI.
There probably would be a huge obstacle — that of the anti-trust issue. But Apple probably could figure out a way to get what they wanted.
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