Please refer to the files attached below. It contains the assignment question, the guidelines to follow and other required information including the case.

The assignment

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and his team, aware of your skills in strategic analysis, have asked you to help them assess the situation and to recommend a strategy for the company for the next five years. Please prepare a report for them giving your appraisal of the situation and your recommendations, considering strategy formulation as well as implementation issues, and using the format given in the “General Guidelines for Analyzing and Writing Cases” provided at the website of the course. Please do not limit yourself to the alternatives, if any, given in the case so you may build other strategic alternatives and consider them before making a recommendation.

Case Specifications

The paper must be between 2,000–2,800 words and printed on a maximum of nine (9) pages in double-space with 12-point Times New Roman font and one-inch (2.54 centimeters) margins on all sides (maximum 23 lines per page). You must use paragraphs and headings in keeping with appropriate business writing form. Use a tab at the beginning of the paragraph to clearly distinguish it from previous paragraphs. Do not use any footnotes. You may use either left justification or both left and right justification.

The word-count limit and the nine-page limit do not include the Title Page or any exhibits. However, they do include the executive summary. Therefore, ignore the Title Page and begin page number one with the Executive Summary. Please do not use fancy fonts. Avoid extended use of bold or italics also. Papers that grossly violate these guidelines will receive a failing grade (e.g., using a font smaller than the one specified here or using single space text in the body of the paper will receive a failing grade). Points may be deducted for other violations (e.g., at least ten per cent points will be deducted for each additional page or part thereof {Hint: “part thereof” here means at least ten per cent points will be deducted for any part of the tenth or any subsequent page}). Please be sure that the text of the paper as well as the exhibits are readable. In the past, some students included pictures of the exhibits that were difficult to read.

Clarification: Stop when you reach 2,800 words or nine pages in the given format. In other words, the paper must meet both conditions: Not more than 2,800 words and not more than nine pages in the given format. Include the Word Count and the Page Count on the statement of integrity and the title page (as shown above).

External Research

You are required to access Spotify’s financial information (Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flows) from the Internet for at least three years (2016-2018). As you may know, this information is easily available at several websites, e.g., Yahoo Finance.