After a disappointing flotation for Snap, the music service and the data storage site have their doubters as they head to market
The message to investors from Spotify last week had a familiar ring for any veteran of the tech gold rush: “The trend towards profitability is clear.”
The music streaming service is hoping to banish the memory of a difficult year for technology flotations. Similar promises of digital alchemy – heavy cash investment transforming into an ever-burgeoning bottom line – followed the stock-market launch of Snap last year. So far, investors in the owner of Snapchat have been underwhelmed, but last week 35-year-old Daniel Ek, Spotify’s co-founder and chief executive, was adamant that his music streaming service would deliver the kind of returns that have proved elusive for tech upstarts since the blockbuster float of Facebook.