Spotify and other streaming services as well as legacy social media platforms have a Gen Z problem.
“We could be doing better in that group,” Spotify CEO Daniel EK told Bloomberg also citing a quote from former Intel CEO Andy Grove – “only the paranoid survive.”
Generation Z were born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s.
“We were built for millennials,” Ek said. “I’m not a Gen Zer, and it’s something I’m well aware of. I am trying to spend time with young folks pushing the company to go for Gen Z, and later on, Gen Alpha.”
Different taste in music
Gen Z’s music taste is decidedly different than core Spotify users. The two top acts on TikTok in 2021, Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion, did not make Spotify’s top five.
Not only is Gen Z flocking to the short social video platform, but TikTok has introduced its own Resso music streaming service in Brazil, Indonesia and India attracting 15.2 million app installs as of late August.
As part of it’s response, Spotify has joined Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and others in building their own short video competitor.
Still in it’s early testing phase, Spotify “Discover,” will be vertical feed of short music videos that users can scroll through, like, or skip.
