The best-designed music app of its era went bankrupt. You are using the company that beat it.
Rdio launched in 2010, built by Skype's founders. Gorgeous, social, years ahead. By 2015 it was bankrupt and sold for scraps.
Spotify launched a year later and is now everywhere. The difference was not the product:
- Rdio delayed its free tier and bet on subscriptions. - Spotify launched free and ad-supported, and plugged into Facebook. - Rdio barely marketed and fell behind on mobile.
Spotify removed every reason to say no, and showed up where everyone already was.
Taste earns a loyal few. Distribution earns everyone.
Name a beautiful product that lost to a more available one.
The move. A free tier plus being where users already are beats superior design.
One of the things Alex keeps saying about go-to-market distribution. See the rest →