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If you hadn't figured this out already, the streaming music business is a terrible one to be in.
That's the chief takeaway from the financial paperwork Spotify filed Wednesday in advance of becoming a public company. Despite dominating the subscription music market, the company generates relatively little money per user, has to give away nearly all the money it generates to the big recording companies, and continues to rack up losses.
In short, Spotify just proved that the streaming music business is a like a black hole - and investors might not see it until it's too late. Elsewhere in Spotify news:
- Spotify's using a "novel method" to go public, and it means the stock price could "decline significantly and rapidly"
- Spotify is building a firewall to keep its founders in control
- A Spotify investor who predicted its $20 billion valuation says everyone is wrongly focusing on its losses
In other news, Jerome Powell, the new Federal Reserve chairman, pushed back against any possible changes to the central bank's 2% inflation-targeting framework. Initial jobless claims- first-time filings for unemployment benefits - fell to a 48-year low of 210,000 last week. And President Donald Trump could announce new tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum as soon as Thursday, a move that could trigger significant economic repercussions.
In finance news, Deutsche Bank's head of stock trading told us how markets went haywire, why volatility is here to stay, and what investors are actually concerned about.
Bank of America has reportedly fired 2 staffers who interfered with a sexual misconduct investigation. The global head of investor relations at $28 billion investor Angelo Gordon has left over misconduct. Hedge fund billionaire David Einhorn's bad start to the year has gotten worse.
In other news:
- Global stocks ended a winning streak that's never been seen before
- BAML: There are 2 catalysts that can make this the 'greatest bull market of all time'
- Traders are fleeing the stock market in record numbers - but a pair of secret weapons are keeping it afloat
- A top strategist compared money management to running a nuclear power station - and warned an accident is already unfolding in slow motion
- CITI: These 14 companies are ripe to be broken up - and history shows a 'highly effective strategy' for investors