Following an ad for a senior product manager last spring that hinted at Spotify's interest in creating a hardware product, this week a collection of new job listings further suggest the launch of a physical Spotify product will be coming in the future (via Music Ally). The listings call for an Operations Manager: Hardware Product, Senior Product Manager: Hardware Production, and Project Manager: Hardware Production and Engineering.

According to the page for the Operations Manager, Spotify is "on its way" to developing and launching its "first physical products," potentially hinting at an upcoming rival device to Apple's HomePod. Although the job listing pages are not full confirmations of Spotify's entry into the smart speaker market, in terms of physical hardware a speaker of some kind does make sense for the music streaming company. The "connected hardware" could also refer to devices like wireless headphones and other music-based products.

spotify logo
A Spotify speaker would enter the market as a competitor to products like Apple's HomePod, which as of now can play Spotify but lacks deep integration with the service and instead favors Apple Music. Spotify's speaker could flip that and focus on the company's own streaming customers, of which there is a large market of more than 140 million subscribers worldwide who could be interested in a Spotify-focused speaker.

The person who gets hired for the position will help the company in setting up an operational organization for manufacturing, and build up the supply chain, sales, and marketing, all while working out of the company's office in Stockholm. All three job listings state that the employee's work will "impact the way the world experiences music."

Spotify is on its way to creating its first physical products and setting up an operational organisation for manufacturing, supply chain, sales & marketing.

We are looking for a passionate and seasoned Operations Manager that will contribute in the creation of innovative Spotify experiences via connected hardware. You will define and manage Distribution, Supply, Logistics, fulfillment and Customer Service for Hardware Products. You will also work with partners to deliver the optimal Spotify experience to millions of users. Above all, your work will impact the way the world experiences music.

As the rivalry between Apple Music and Spotify has grown since the former service's mid-2015 launch, Apple Music is now forecasted to overtake Spotify in paid subscriber numbers in the United States as soon as this summer. That prediction came from The Wall Street Journal earlier in the month, in a report that stated Apple Music's monthly growth rates have been exceeding Spotify's by about three percentage points. In terms of worldwide numbers, Spotify still has about 70 million paid subscribers compared to Apple Music's 36 million.

Tag: Spotify

Top Rated Comments

OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
73 months ago
If they are, it'll be a snooze. Spotify isn't a hardware company, so it'll be one of two things. Either totally uninspiring and lacking in every way, or designed by someone else with their name slapped on it. Either way, it'll be boring and won't be much in the way of competition for anyone else in the market.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
73 months ago
Then why does Apple Music bother to exist? Virtually the same product, same economics.
Not at all. Spotify is in the music streaming business exclusively. Apple is not. Apple's sole intention with Apple Music doesn't have to be about making money like Spotify's must be. Because of this, Apple is in a far better spot.

The economics are far from the same.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mad.Whack Avatar
73 months ago
If it's half the price of a homepod and works with Alexa. Instabuy for me.

If they are, it'll be a snooze. Spotify isn't a hardware company, so it'll be one of two things. Either totally uninspiring and lacking in every way, or designed by someone else with their name slapped on it. Either way, it'll be boring and won't be much in the way of competition for anyone else in the market.
They don't need to make the hardware alone; they can simply have a hardware partner and focus on the software (which is miles ahead of AM imo).
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
73 months ago
Then why does Apple Music bother to exist? Virtually the same product, same economics.
This question has been addressed numerous times in other threads. AM is actually part of Apple’s highly profitable services sector (they don’t report separately) and exists to capture customers into their ecosystem. It’s an ecosystem which includes hardware that makes more profit than any other company has ever made, so Apple can even operate AM at a loss and still make ridiculous money, sustaining it indefinitely. Spotify has no such white knight. In fact, and you’re free to confirm this in our own, Spotify actually is losing money with each customer they add.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WRXHokie Avatar
73 months ago
How about an apple watch app first?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
unobtainium Avatar
73 months ago
I don’t understand the current craze for voice assistant speakers. It’s so much easier to just choose a song on your phone and press play. I never don’t have my phone on me.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

iPhone 15 Models Feature New Setting to Strictly Prevent Charging Beyond 80%

Tuesday September 19, 2023 2:04 pm PDT by
All of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times when enabled, as confirmed by The Verge's Allison Johnson during a Q&A session today. The new setting is separate from the pre-existing Optimized Battery Charging feature on iPhones, which intelligently delays charging past 80% until a more...
iOS 17 and iPhones Feature

iOS 17: 10 New Features That Just Launched

Sunday September 17, 2023 12:35 pm PDT by
In June, Apple announced iOS 17 with a wide range of new features and changes for the iPhone. Following over three months of beta testing, the free software update will be released this Monday, September 18 for the iPhone XS and newer. Below, we have recapped 10 key features coming to the iPhone with iOS 17, with additional features coming later this year. The update should be released to...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 With Bug Fixes, Plus iOS 17.0.2 for iPhone 15 Models

Thursday September 21, 2023 10:28 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates for the iPhone and the iPad, adding bug fixes to the new software. The iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates come just a few days after Apple launched iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. The software, which is build 21A340, can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a...
emojipedia 15 1 emoji

Emoji Coming to Future iOS 17 Update Include Shaking Head, Brown Mushroom, Lime, Phoenix and More

Tuesday September 19, 2023 12:43 pm PDT by
As Apple was announcing new iPhone models last week, the Unicode Consortium was officially approving new emoji characters that are set to be added to smartphones starting in 2024. Mockup of new emoji from Emojipedia Approved Unicode 15.1 emoji include phoenix, lime, an edible mushroom, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake), and broken...