One of these guys is using Spotify (photo: Robert Pastryk)
Spotify has just crossed a massive milestone: 150 million active users worldwide. It’s also rapidly approaching 65 million paying subscribers.
Here’s another reason why Spotify is fighting back against music publishers. They’re monstrously huge! Which means they have a lot more weight and leverage to throw around.
According to details leaked to Digital Music News this afternoon, Spotify has now crossed 150 million active users worldwide. That is a towering figure that nearly doubles that of Pandora. And it probably beats underachieving rivals like Google Play Music and Xbox Music (neither company has shared their respective numbers).
The information came from a major content partner to Spotify — and we’ll leave it at that.
Separately, Apple Music is rapidly moving towards 30 million subscribers.
But importantly, Apple Music is premium-only, and roughly two years old. It’s also showing major gains on its iOS platform, so this game is just getting started.
On that note, the source also shared some expected premium subscriber stats. Specifically, Spotify is ‘moving rapidly’ towards 65 million, though we already knew that. At the tail end of July, the platform officially crossed the 60 million mark.
That’s an amazing number, and an unthinkable achievement a few years back. It’s also difficult news for companies like Soundcloud, who have struggled to rally any substantial paying subs. Then again, Soundcloud still amasses roughly 300 million active users — though that number is sinking.
In terms of announcements, the source had no idea if/when an official announcement would be made.
But Spotify probably won’t trumpet this latest milestone. And the reason is that it highlights the massive number of free users sitting on the platform. Just last month, industry sources told Digital Music News that major labels are strategizing to shut down streaming free access tiers.
+ Spotify, YouTube Music to End Free Streaming In 2-3 Years, Sources Say
Looking ahead, the source also noted that Spotify is aiming to reach 75 million paying subscribers by year end. At a pace of roughly 2-2.5 million new paying subscribers a month, that could be possible Adding some jet-fuel to that pace are two factors: year-end gifts of a Spotify subscription, and a greater push towards low-cost plans. That includes a recently-launched student bundle that packages Hulu for a cool $5 a month.
More details ahead!
An ad-supported free-only music streaming service is still not really a bad idea..
revenue can still trickle down to rights owners and the possibilities of gaining market share are almost limitless.
Guvera went pear shaped but that was because of a number of reasons..
the concept can still have legs if executed correctly.
Dispense with the paid-tier model and focus a business on FREE
and the potential is for a major advertising and sponsorship bonanza
where Every 1’s a Winner (to quote Hot Chocolate)…
Free could work well, I think. Facebook made almost $10 billion in ads in their second quarter, which is what music subscriptions would bring in annually at about 83 million paid subscribers.
How many of these paid subscribers are actually paying? In New Zealand Spotify has a deal with the largest telco, giving Spotify Premium away for free to over 1 million customers. I assume the telco is paying, but it won’t be full price. And does one “Family Plan” subscription count as 6 subscribers?
Free streaming is a criminal enterprise! In 2017 when you can listen while paying your fav artists, free streaming kills everything.
How many times you listen your favorite songs? A limited time, because music isn’t sounding as good as the initial listens…
For example someone who listens 1.000 times his favorite song for free, is a criminal! You probably do 1.000 streams and over and he will never pay anything for it!!
Premium streams are legit, free are for criminals!!!
Spotify – worst thing for the music after Napster.
YouTube is worse.
We have to accept that the recorded music biz will never return to the days when hit producers/songwriters ruled the waves.. the likes of
Kasenetz/Katz, Holland/Dozier/Holland, Gamble/Huff, Chinn/Chapman,
Vanda/Young, Moroder/Bellotte, Stock/Aitken/Waterman…
The days when records really sold a lot of records (to quote Nicky Chinn in the Spotify secret genius series..)
The days of pressing and distributing tons of 7″ singles, cassettes, CD’s and 12″ vinyl are mostly over in the big league countries (USA/CA, UK, AUS), sure CD’s sell a few in Germany, Japan and South Korea.. but that’s another thing…
There’s only one producer who’s kept on making the hits and not worried about
the way it’s distributed.. and that’s Max Martin the world’s biggest hit maker..
Max still makes millions out of the record racket in today’s climate of shrinking downloads and physical..
Listen to Nicky Chinn on Spotify secret genius series talk about the good old days when records really sold a lot of records..
https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify_in_residence/playlist/0iwgkd3dvwDX2npL0OAyD0
Hit songwriter and producer Nicky Chinn talks about the days when records really sold a lot of records in the Spotify Secret Genius series
http://open.spotify.com/user/spotify_in_residence/playlist/0iwgkd3dvwDX2npL0OAyD0
Nicky Chinn teamed up with Mike Chapman sometime around 1969/1970 after meeting at Jackie Collin’s husbands London nightclub called Tramp where Chapman was working as a waiter and Chinn was a regular patron and was working at the time in the family luxury automobile business.. they discovered their mutual interest in writing songs and together they wrote and produced hits from 1970 through to around 1982 afterwhich the partnership broke up and Chapman went on to write (with Holly Knight) and produce many more hits and Chinn also pursued a new lease of hit writing after taking an extended hiatus..
Hit songwriter and producer Nicky Chinn talks about the days when records really sold a lot of records in the Spotify Secret Genius series
Search Spotify “Nicky Chinn Secret Genius”
Nicky Chinn teamed up with Mike Chapman sometime around 1969/1970 after meeting at Jackie Collin’s husbands London nightclub called Tramp where Chapman was working as a waiter and Chinn was a regular patron and was working at the time in the family luxury automobile business.. they discovered their mutual interest in writing songs and together they wrote and produced hits from 1970 through to around 1982 afterwhich the partnership broke up and Chapman went on to write (with Holly Knight) and produce many more hits and Chinn also pursued a new lease of hit writing after taking an extended hiatus..