What many Singaporeans didn't know about Spotify

Evolution of ‘the theatre of the mind’in APAC

It is a beautiful Saturday morning in the spring of 1994. With their latest reads in hand, Jason and his girlfriend are spending the evening at the park listening to their favourite station in the ‘mini hi-fi’. Jason absently moves his hand over the REC button just in case the DJ plays Michael Jackson’s latest ‘hit’so that he can ‘tape it’and play it during their next house party…

Many call it the ‘Radio’. We, the ad men, call it the ‘theatre of the mind’.  It is the only medium where the target audience has the freedom to ‘imagine’by default. This renders a magical quality to a well-executed radio campaign.

New digital mediums providing more visual entertainment have revolutionized the way we consume entertainment today. Amidst the gloom and the impending doom of the traditional radio, one tiny light is carrying the core functionality of a radio to the future. Streaming music industry is poised to bring back the audiotainment industry back.

A revolutionary audio vendor is slowly changing the game one tiny beautiful app at a time. Spotify…is now in Asia! An extremely nimble, intuitive app that gives you access to over 24 million songs with a simple touch, integrates beautifully across most of your technology platforms be it mobile or desktop.

Spotify is social. Which is why millions of individuals use it! Tired of your workout playlist? You can listen to Michelle Obama’s workout playlist for a change via Spotify! And who knows, Lenny Kravitz might just add your compilation to his playlist as well. What is truly nostalgic is the ‘Spotify radio’function. You start with a song of your choice and then voilà! The system automatically selects songs for you.

Spotify is Ad-land friendly! The system allows brands to create comprehensive campaigns via apps, banners and audio spots. Already, a host of global brands are advertising on Spotify in Asia. The brand integration is further enhanced via Spotify Apps.

Coke’s Spotify App, aka ‘Coke placelists’ is indeed a praiseworthy effort by the brand, marrying Coke’s global appeal and its customers’love for music. Spotify is poised to allow marketers to target Asia’s fragmented digital audience with greater efficiency.

A new wave of Asian consumers respecting ‘entertainment usage rights’ is rising thanks to Spotify. In a continent where entertainment piracy is a billion dollar industry, Adam 23 says “I’m glad Spotify is here. I don’t feel guilty about downloading music torrents anymore. This is hassle-free and legal!” indicating that there is a group of consumers who are becoming more aware of digital piracy and is willing to support those who champion legal consumption of entertainment in Asia.

This may not solve the digital piracy issue overnight but it sure has planted a potent seed among many Asian consumers with regards to legitimate usage of media.

So, after 20 years, Jason, his wife and their teenage daughter are enjoying a family picnic at the park. Their daughter pairs all three Samsung phones and plays her favourite song via Spotify Radio. Jason remembers how he used to be ready to hit the REC button back in the day with a smile. Sometimes he misses the ‘rush’ of hearing his ‘radio dedication’to his wife being read out by the radio DJ. Who knows…Spotify might just include these functions in the future.

Thanks to Spotify and other music streaming apps, our beloved theatre of the mind has evolved and is bound to grow from strength to strength.