“I do believe that having to be profitable and having strong constraints actually makes us more efficient and more — well, smarter basically. Our ambition is really to become one of the first to be profitable in the music industry.”

Being Small Forces Efficiency — Profitable Constraints Beat Unlimited Budget

Deezer competes against Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and YouTube Music — all backed by companies where music streaming profitability is irrelevant. Rather than treating budget constraints as a handicap, Shireen Khi frames them as a forcing function for sharper decisions: every test must justify itself, every channel must be earned. Smaller apps that must be profitable from day one often build better marketing muscle than well-funded competitors.