When you consider that 9 out of 10 French people admit to listening to music every day, it's easy to see how a business revolving around this sector could work. But how many have launched their businesses with little or no success? It's all the more remarkable, in this sense, to understand the story of Spotify, a now iconic unicorn. 

The idea that changed everything 

A guitar and a computer will help change Daniel Ek's life. Many little boys, before the age of ten, can receive such gifts. But this was something of a prophecy. A few years later, it was the union of music and technology that would give birth to Spotify. 

He was 5 years old when he got his first computer and only 13 when he started creating sites...for companies. This coding genius senses that there's money to be made, given what's on offer for his services. 

He's going to create a site for himself, but above all he's going to learn a lesson from his competitors. At a time when they were all charging a lot for their services, he was going to cut prices by a factor of ten, to attract everyone. Even as a high-school student, he was already earning 15,000 euros a month. 

After being turned down by Google, to whom he applied, the young man's anger led him to seek a diversion: the creation of a better search engine, which he sold to a company in his native Sweden. 

Daniel Ek's third creation and fortune, but also an episode of depression. He wondered what he really wanted to do, and returned to his first love: music and technology. 

He spent weeks with Martin Lorentzon, who had bought out one of his companies and was still looking for a good project, and Spotify was born: a platform where it would not be necessary to download to listen to music (streaming). CD sales, in fact, were in freefall, and the industry at the time was rather sluggish, even though people still loved listening to good sound. 

To get free music, Internet users and music fans have to put up with advertising. If this annoys them, they can opt for a paying package (with the possibility of downloading for the Premium package, which now has 133 million users). 

It's hard not to find what you're looking for, whatever your style, with more than 60 million tracks, some of them by independent artists. 

Creating the site was less of a problem than obtaining the broadcasting rights. But after 2 years, the matter was settled and Spotify was created in 2008.

The development and consecration of Spotify

Success comes very quickly and doesn't stop. 

The company benefits from a number of fundraisings, in 2015 with over $500 million through several players. In 2016, we're talking about a billion dollars. In all, in its first 10 years of existence, the company has raised 7 rounds of financing for its development. 

In less than a decade, the company has earned its unicorn stripes, with 71 million subscribers in 2018 and a valuation in the same year of over a billion euros. Present in 77 countries around the world, Spotify has rapidly expanded beyond Sweden. 

One of Spotify's strengths is that it is available as an application and web browser, and that it is automatically integrated into a number of connected services such as Google Maps (quite a revenge for Daniel Ek), Waze and Android Auto, among others. 

SFR was one of the first to put its trust in the platform with a phone subscription that includes Spotify, back in 2011. 

The founders don't want to stop there, and in 2019 they're offering podcast streaming, which people are becoming increasingly fond of. 

Because it's not only adults who enjoy listening to music, and some content is not always suitable for them, Spotify Kids arrives in 2021 with a parental control option. In the same year, the platform will also offer the option of streaming audio books, to diversify further and not limit itself to music. 

Spotify: key information

It's the fruit of a lifetime, perhaps, of attempts (and successes) and wanderings: but in the end, it was while working on what he was passionate about that Daniel Ek created his most successful company in 2008: Spotify. 

Present in many countries around the world, Spotify has numerous offices, including some in the United States. The company currently employs over 8,000 people. 

Despite its overwhelming success, Spotify doesn't make much profit. It made "only" 9.6 billion euros in 2021, which doesn't currently make it a so-called profitable company. 

It has to be said that 70% of its revenues go to labels and publishers (music rights holders). But the founders estimate that within ten years, they will be aiming for $100 billion in sales. 

It took the company just ten years to go public. Officially created in 2008, it went public in April 2018, when the platform registered 159 million subscribers. 

Music is undoubtedly Daniel Ek's inspiration, his muse, but the entrepreneur knows that he must always diversify to capture more and more users. Internet users don't have time to read, but like to listen to stories or podcasts? That's Spotify's next objective. 

However, as this is an innovative financial model, it's not easy to get everything up and running, and while the margin in this area is still slightly negative, this doesn't seem to discourage Daniel Ek, as he recently confirmed at the Investor Day. Not only do we have to acquire the podcast players, but we also have to produce and manage advertising, which for the time being has required an investment of over a billion dollars. 

It's true that Daniel Ek has a certain amount of experience in the entrepreneurial field, having bought out three successful companies, and that challenges seem to be part of his daily routine and a kind of emulation for him. 

The integration of podcasts and audio books is obviously a good idea to attract more people. 

The company slogan is " listening changes everything ". An ode to music, of course, its trademark, its raison d'être.

But wasn't Daniel Ek also talking about his intuition, when he could have been content with his first successes but, after some dark moments, preferred to return to what had always made him happy?