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The Effect of Application Piracy, Perceived Risk, and Brand Loyalty on The Decision to Subscribe to Official Spotify Services Among Students of STMB Multismart

  • Victor1
  • Ferry Hidayat2
  • Deby Angelica Napitupulu3*
1,2,3 Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Bisnis Multi Sarana Manajemen Administrasi dan Rekayasa Teknologi
* Corresponding Author: Deby Angelica Napitupulu

Abstract

This study examines how application piracy, perceived risk, and brand loyalty jointly shape the decision of university students to subscribe to the official Spotify service. The research was conducted at Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Bisnis (STMB) Multismart, Medan, Indonesia, between July and August 2026, using a quantitative associative design. From a target population of 288 active students who had used Spotify in any form (free, modified/unauthorized, or paid Premium) during the previous six months, a sample of 74 respondents was obtained through accidental sampling, with the sample size derived from the Slovin formula at a 10% margin of error. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire measured on a five-point Likert scale and analyzed with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4, following a two-stage procedure of measurement-model and structural-model assessment. The structural results show that brand loyalty has a positive and statistically significant effect on the subscription decision (β = 0.468; t = 2.428; p = 0.015), that the construct labeled perceived risk shows a positive and statistically significant effect (β = 0.637; t = 4.297; p < 0.001), and that application piracy has a negative but statistically non-significant effect (β = −0.274; t = 1.521; p = 0.128). The model explains 67.5% of the variance in the subscription decision (R² = 0.675; adjusted R² = 0.661). The findings suggest that, within this student sample, loyalty-based attachment to the Spotify brand and risk-related evaluations are the stronger correlates of choosing the official service, whereas exposure to pirated/modified applications does not meaningfully deter the subscription decision. The study offers practical implications for the design of value, trust, and loyalty strategies in subscription-based digital services, while acknowledging the limitations of a single-institution, cross-sectional, non-probability design.

Keywords

Application piracy Perceived risk Brand loyalty Subscription decision Spotify Premium PLS-SEM

How to Cite

Citation Format
Victor, V., Hidayat, F., & Napitupulu, D. A. (2026). The Effect of Application Piracy, Perceived Risk, and Brand Loyalty on The Decision to Subscribe to Official Spotify Services Among Students of STMB Multismart. International Journal of Management Science and Information Technology, 6(2), 3184-3194. https://doi.org/10.35870/ijmsit.v6i2.9015

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Author Biographies

Victor, Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Bisnis Multi Sarana Manajemen Administrasi dan Rekayasa Teknologi

Business Administration Study Program, Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Bisnis Multi Sarana Manajemen Administrasi dan Rekayasa Teknologi, Medan City, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

Ferry Hidayat, Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Bisnis Multi Sarana Manajemen Administrasi dan Rekayasa Teknologi

Business Administration Study Program, Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Bisnis Multi Sarana Manajemen Administrasi dan Rekayasa Teknologi, Medan City, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

Deby Angelica Napitupulu, Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Bisnis Multi Sarana Manajemen Administrasi dan Rekayasa Teknologi

Management Study Program, Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Bisnis Multi Sarana Manajemen Administrasi dan Rekayasa Teknologi, Medan City, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

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Copyright (c) 2026 Victor, Ferry Hidayat, Deby Angelica Napitupulu

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