Music streaming service Spotify will be going public via a method known as 'direct listing', in which the company's current shareholders, including employees and investors, will sell shares to stock market investors. This is unusual because in most cases companies sell shares directly on the stock market to the public as part of their Initial Public Offering (IPO). The company posted revenues of €4.09 billion in FY17, as compared to €2.95 billion in FY16, and €1.94 billion in FY15. However, its losses doubled to €1.24 billion in FY17, from €539 million in FY16. In FY15, it had reported losses of €230 million. As of December 31, 2017, Spotify operates in 61 countries and has 159 million monthly active users (MAUs), of which 71 million are premium or paid subscribers. While Spotify's ad-supported service had 92 million MAUs. Premium subscribers have grown 46% year-on-year (YoY) from December 2016, while MAUs have grown 29% YoY. What can music streaming companies in India learn? Offer group subscription plans & student plans Spotify mentioned that the growth in premium subscribers was partly driven by the popularity of its Family Plan, which basically allows up to six premium subscribers to access the ad-free service at a fixed monthly rate. This is similar to how Netflix offers users plans that allow up to 4 people to access the service at the same time. As an aside, the 71 million premium subscribers reported by Spotify includes "both the master Family Plan account as well as any sub-accounts associated with each household."…
