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The Rising Demand for Whiskey: A Smart Investor’s Choice
Why are 250,000 Vinovest customers investing in whiskey?
In a word - consumption.
Global alcohol consumption is on the rise, with projections hitting new peaks by 2028. Whiskey, in particular, is experiencing significant growth, with the number of US craft distilleries quadrupling in the past decade. Younger generations are moving from beer to cocktails, boosting whiskey's popularity.
That’s not all.
Whiskey's tangible nature, market resilience, and Vinovest’s strategic approach make whiskey a smart addition to any diversified portfolio.
Spotify’s free tier is just the icing on a very large, increasingly profitable, premium cake.
Remember all that noise last summer when Spotify hiked its prices for the first time ever?
Well, it turns out, premium users didn't really care. Despite having to cough up more for their music, Spotify’s premium subscriber numbers were up 12% YoY to a record 246M.
And what happens when you charge MORE money to MORE users?
A boatload of MORE money. Spotify’s revenue from premium users was up 21% at $3.3B.
CAN Watch Ads; CAN’T Hear ‘Em
We’ve covered countless times how ads ingrained the ads model is in every industry. And video streaming is having its moment with ads.
Many people seem increasingly willing to live with constant ad interruptions - especially if it means you’ll have to pay less for the platform.
Netflix, Amazon Prime and their buddies have jumped on the ad train, offering cheap plans plastered with ad interruptions.
Music might be a different story though. While people are alright paying less to binge their favorite shows WITH ads, they DON’T want ads to breakup their favorite playlist and are ready to pay the premium.
Spotify’s numbers reflect this aversion. While premium subscribers make up only 40% of the total subscribers, premium revenue is the real MVP, accounting for ~90% of the total dough.
Since ads don’t really move the needle that much for Spotify, the company is doubling down on paid plans with another recent price hike and plans to launch a Supremium tier later this year.
Need More Money? No Problem
How can Spotify raise prices and still possibly get away with it?
Well, Spotify currently boasts one of the lowest monthly user churn rates among major video and audio services.
Audio streaming in general enjoys a lower churn than video streaming. Customers switch between audio services about 1/4th as often as they switch between video services.
Why? Because video streaming is all about exclusive content. Viewers switch based on where their favorite shows and movies are. Because content is a real moat in video streaming.
Audio services are pretty similar when it comes to their content offering. Millions of songs, podcasts, and albums all available on every platform makes it less about the songs and more about things outside of the songs that decides a person’s streaming platform of choice.
This makes the initial customer acquisition more challenging but once someone is in, audio streaming customers are much more stickier. While people will sign up and cancel a video service based on what is available, most people only use one audio service and rarely switch.
But not all audio services are created equal. Spotify has amassed a massive subscriber base of 600M+ users keeping their growth and cancellation rates much better than their peers by winning at personalizing the music experience better than anyone else.
You see, music is deeply personal. Sure, video platforms have recommendations and playlists, but they’re nothing compared to the curated experience of audio services. People don’t usually re-watch video playlists repeatedly, but they do have multiple playlists they return to over and over.
Just have a look at my regular playlists:
Monday Motivation: For when I need to trick myself into thinking this week will be different.
Dance Like No One's Watching: Because no one should see these moves.
Shower Karaoke: The only place where I’m a Grammy-winning superstar.
Spotify’s standout personalization features like Daily Mix, Discover Weekly, and the beloved Spotify Wrapped create a unique experience for each user, cementing loyalty and reducing the temptation to switch. So, while others may dabble, Spotify’s users stick around, making it the top dawg in the audio streaming arena.
☄️ Asteroids ☄️
OpenAI is developing a text watermarking tool to detect ChatGPT-written assignments, but they're unsure about releasing it. Why? Because non-English speakers might face issues, and pesky cheaters could find sneaky workarounds! 🕵️♂️✍️
Yelp is betting big on AI to enhance its platform with AI-powered summaries and assistants. They aim to connect users with local businesses better and faster using AI but insists on maintaining genuine human reviews.💡✍️
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