38/264 Google competes with us, we do not believe that Google will use the GCP operation in such a manner as to gain competitive advantage against our Service. If we fail to accurately predict, recommend, and play music that our Users enjoy, we may fail to retain existing Users and attract new Users in sufficient numbers to meet investor expectations for growth or to operate our business profitably. We believe that a key differentiating factor between Spotify and other music content providers is our ability to predict music that our Users will enjoy. Our system for predicting User music preferences and selecting music tailored to our Users’ individual music tastes is based on advanced data analytics systems and our proprietary algorithms. We have invested, and will continue to invest, significant resources in refining these technologies; however, we cannot assure you that such investments will yield an attractive return or that such refinements will be effective. The effectiveness of our ability to predict User music preferences and select music tailored to our Users’ individual music tastes depends in part on our ability to gather and effectively analyze large amounts of User data. In addition, our ability to offer Users songs that they have not previously heard and impart a sense of discovery depends on our ability to acquire and appropriately categorize additional songs that will appeal to our Users’ diverse and changing tastes. While we have a large catalog of songs available to stream, we must continuously identify and analyze additional songs that our Users will enjoy and we may not effectively do so. Our ability to predict and select music content that our Users enjoy is critical to the perceived value of our Service among Users and failure to make accurate predictions could materially adversely affect our ability to adequately attract and retain Users, increase Content Hours, and sell advertising to meet investor expectations for growth or to operate the business profitably. If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our business, operating results, and financial condition may suffer. Our rapid growth has placed, and will continue to place, significant demands on our management and our operational and financial infrastructure. In order to attain and maintain profitability, we will need to recruit, integrate, and retain skilled and experienced personnel who can demonstrate our value proposition to Users, advertisers, and business partners and who can increase the monetization of the music streamed on our Service, particularly on mobile devices. Continued growth also could strain our ability to maintain reliable service levels for our Users, effectively monetize the music streamed, develop and improve our operational and financial controls, and recruit, train, and retain highly skilled personnel. If our systems do not evolve to meet the increased demands placed on us by an increasing number of advertisers, we also may be unable to meet our obligations under advertising agreements with respect to the delivery of advertising or other performance obligations. As our operations grow in size, scope, and complexity, we will need to improve and upgrade our systems and infrastructure, which will require significant expenditures and allocation of valuable technical and management resources. If we fail to maintain efficiency and allocate limited resources effectively in our organization as it grows, our business, operating results, and financial condition may suffer. We have experienced rapid growth rates in both the number of active Users of our Service and revenue over the last few years. As we grow larger and increase our User base and usage, we expect it will become increasingly difficult to maintain the rate of growth we currently experience. Our ability to increase the number of our Users will depend in part on our ability to distribute our Service, which may be affected by third­ party interference beyond our control. The use of our Service depends on the ability of our Users to access the internet, our website, and our app. Enterprises or professional organizations, including governmental agencies, could block access to the internet, our website, and our application for a number of reasons such as security or confidentiality concerns or regulatory reasons that could adversely impact our User base. 31