Spotify Earnings: The Music Streaming War Is Heating Up

YouTube: "They have more reach than the rest combined. Everyone who pays for the other three services will also be using YouTube. Having your foot on another player's patch is a big advantage in a game of chess."

Amazon: "Can move in many directions, from music to devices to games to films, finding value by killing friction. Acquiring IMDb, for instance, gives them perfect information about films it doesn't even carry."

Apple Music: "Ties into a valuable ecosystem of TV, books and podcasts, each with its own unique app. It's also succeeded in doubling down on hip-hop – a genre with deep roots in L.A."

Spotify: "A first mover in streaming, therefore a first mover in gathering data -- something you can't replicate. It can also scale across the Android population, which in the U.S. is twice the size of iOS."