Spotify vs Apple Music | Who Stopped the Music? | 1

This episode of Business Wars explores the high-stakes battle between Spotify and Apple Music in the early 2010s, tracing how Spotify’s rise as a streaming disruptor forced Apple to abandon its long-held 'ownership' model. The story begins in 2006, when Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon founded Spotify in Sweden, aiming to defeat piracy with a fast, legal, free-to-use streaming service. Despite technical brilliance, Spotify faced fierce resistance from major record labels, who demanded 70% of revenue and minimum payouts, nearly sinking the company. After a grueling five-year struggle, Spotify secured deals with all four major labels by leveraging momentum and strategic pressure, finally launching in the U.S. in 2011. Meanwhile, Apple, still loyal to Steve Jobs’ vision of music ownership, lagged behind. Tim Cook, recognizing the shift to streaming, acquired Beats for $3.5 billion in 2014, using it as a springboard to launch Apple Music in 2015. But just days before launch, Apple faced a crisis when Taylor Swift publicly rejected Apple’s three-month free trial, arguing it didn’t pay artists during that period. The episode reveals how Apple’s attempt to position itself as artist-friendly unraveled in a single moment, exposing the fragility of its strategy and setting the stage for a full-scale war over the future of music streaming.