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Spotify Now Has 70 Million Paid Subscribers

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Spotify today announced on Twitter that it has hit a new milestone, with the streaming music service reaching a total of 70 million paid subscribers.

Over the course of the last six months, Spotify's paid subscriber base has grown by 10 million customers, up from 60 million in late July. When adding in customers who listen to the free ad-supported Spotify tier, the service has more than 140 million subscribers worldwide.

spotify-logo-800x285.jpg

Comparatively, Apple Music has upwards of 30 million paying subscribers. Apple last shared Apple Music metrics in late September, when Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine said the service had "well over" 30 million subscribers. Since it's been three months since we last heard an update, Apple's current subscriber number is likely closer to 35 million subscribers, based on past growth rates.

Hello 70 million subscribers 👏 - Spotify (@Spotify) January 4, 2018
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In September of 2016, Apple Music had 17 million subscribers, so growth has nearly doubled over the course of the past year, but that hasn't stopped Spotify from continuing to grow at a rapid pace as well.

Apple Music subscriptions start at $9.99 per month following a free trial (with lower prices available for students), while Spotify continues to offer both a free tier and an upgraded on-demand listening tier also priced at $9.99 per month.

Spotify's new 70 million subscriber milestone comes following a recent confidential IPO filing with Securities and Exchange Commission. Spotify plans to go public through a direct listing, forgoing the traditional initial public offering. Without a traditional IPO, there will be no predetermined price for Spotify shares when it goes public.

Spotify is also currently facing a copyright lawsuit for allegedly using thousands of songs from artists like Tom Petty, Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, and the Doors without a license from publisher Wixen Music.

Article Link: Spotify Now Has 70 Million Paid Subscribers
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/01/04/spotify-now-has-70-million-paid-subscribers/
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Subscriber numbers for both Spotify (11 years old) and Apple Music (2 years old) are both respectable. I’m actually more impressed by Apple Music, achieving half the paid subscribers in less than one fifth the time.

Not sure about that IPO. Spotify is already stingy with royalties and a new shareholder-driven landscape probably won’t help that much. Spotify still loses money, while Apple only has a paid tier and can buffer its music streaming service all it want with its massive war chest. Just like Amazon & books/kindles, they can even operate at a segmental loss and still make gobs of money. Plus, they get customers into the product ecosystem. Spotify is a service-only company. I think competitors like Apple, Amazon, and Google, with their physical products (or, in Google’s case, ads) to bolster profit, will win in the end.
 
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BJB Productions said:
I tried Apple Music, and I really, really wanted to like it... but for some reason I just couldn't get used to it. Spotify is always helping me discover much better new music. Just my 2 cents.
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That's my biggest complaint about Apple Music. The recommendations are terrible

I have both AM and Spotify since Spotify has a deal where you can get their subscription and a subscription to Hulu for 5 bucks with student email address. I use Spotify way more than AM mainly because of the recommendations
 
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Spotify is going public but still can't make a profit. They are just prolonging as long as possible getting rid of the free tier. But it won't last forever.
 
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I don't like Apple Music's interface at all (same complaints as iTunes / iOS music), but they seem to have a much broader selection of music, so I prefer it. All they have to do is start copying stuff from Spotify, and it's over.
 
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Good. I love Spotify. I tried AM but i just couldnt deal with the ugly pink on white and the horrible organiszed playlist selections.

I love the categories on Spotify and how they change based on the time of the day or season and the personalized playlists. Sharing with friends is also a lot easier. Playing om one device but controlling it from another is great too :)

Also AM has no web player, instant fail for work.

Oh and AM and it’s obnoxious obsession with hip hop can suck it
 
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Kabeyun said:
Spotify (11 years old) and Apple Music (2 years old)
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Not really a fair comparison at all. Apple has been in the online music business for 15 years now. They didn't need to ask for anybody to fill in any information to sign up - Apple already has your name, address, credit card, and email address. They didn't need to ask you to download an app. Literally all you had to do was update to a newer version of iOS (which was automatically downloaded and older versions would nag you to install), launch the stock music app, and tap to have your trial begin. If you forgot about it, you'd be automatically converted into a paying subscriber. And they had a massive and widely covered media event to launch the service, followed by a massive campaign ad.

In contrast, Spotify needs to convince you to find the app, then download it, then set up an account, then fill in all your payment info to upgrade to a paying account. And Spotify doesn't have media events (or if they do, they're not widely covered), and the ad campaign hasn't been anywhere near as massive.
 
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Why the direct listing instead of IPO, because they just can't afford the fees? Is that fishy? Not meant to be a rhetorical question, just asking.
 
A billion dollar lawsuit scares me. Had both services and Apple Music quality is much better than Spotify, hands down. They also haven't solved the cache removal issue since day one. I wish them luck
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
Not really a fair comparison at all. Apple has been in the online music business for 15 years now. They didn't need to ask for anybody to fill in any information to sign up - Apple already has your name, address, credit card, and email address. They didn't need to ask you to download an app. Literally all you had to do was update to a newer version of iOS (which was automatically downloaded and older versions would nag you to install), launch the stock music app, and tap to have your trial begin. If you forgot about it, you'd be automatically converted into a paying subscriber. And they had a massive and widely covered media event to launch the service, followed by a massive campaign ad.

In contrast, Spotify needs to convince you to find the app, then download it, then set up an account, then fill in all your payment info to upgrade to a paying account. And Spotify doesn't have media events (or if they do, they're not widely covered), and the ad campaign hasn't been anywhere near as massive.
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Exactly. On top of that, they even initially popped up the subscription option to users when they were just trying to access their own music after the update. And Apple already had an unparalleled amount of funding and all its connections to the music industry.
 
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As others have stated, I love Apple Music and the integration but it is not very good at finding new music or curated playlists. Hopefully this will improve within the next year.
 
Kabeyun said:
Subscriber numbers for both Spotify (11 years old) and Apple Music (2 years old) are both respectable. I’m actually more impressed by Apple Music, achieving half the paid subscribers in less than one fifth the time.
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Of course, being the default tends to help, right? Like Apple Maps vs. Google Maps. Or Microsoft Internet Explorer vs. Netscape back in the 1990s.
 
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I have had both for two years. I can't decide which one to cancel. Apple Music has better integration, but I like the Spotify app more.

I wish Apple had bought Spotify 3 years ago. They could probably have got it for five billions back then. Apple are sitting on over $200 billion. They got to use it for something.

And wasn't Apple about having the best products.
 
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Kabeyun said:
Subscriber numbers for both Spotify (11 years old) and Apple Music (2 years old) are both respectable. I’m actually more impressed by Apple Music, achieving half the paid subscribers in less than one fifth the time.

Not sure about that IPO. Spotify is already stingy with royalties and a new shareholder-driven landscape probably won’t help that much. Spotify still loses money, while Apple only has a paid tier and can buffer its music streaming service all it want with its massive war chest. Just like Amazon & books/kindles, they can even operate at a segmental loss and still make gobs of money. Plus, they get customers into the product ecosystem. Spotify is a service-only company. I think competitors like Apple, Amazon, and Google, with their physical products (or, in Google’s case, ads) to bolster profit, will win in the end.
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You really framed it perfectly.

I can't understand how Spotify will inevitably become profitable. Even with X million more subscribers, it doesn't appear they can turn a profit after many years. They're not like Amazon, who has other services and products to offer, which help offset operating losses from their online retail segment.

I think Spotify will be left with no choice but to be bought out, or will become obsolete when some future music service offering trumps steaming (like CD's did to cassettes, iTunes did to CD's, and streaming did to iTunes).

I would love nothing more than for Apple to acquire Spotify (I know, most of you will cringe). Apple's UI and integration with Spotify's discovery algorithms would be unstoppable. Plus, Apple has cash to blow.
 
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Work the IPO, pocket the $$, ride off into the sunset before the stock plummets and the company goes bankrupt...nothing new or unusual.
 
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