When Spotify launched its music streaming service in several European countries on October 7, 2008, few people would have thought that this obscure Stockholm-based startup would eventually grow into the world’s most popular music platform. Back then, music streaming was still in its infancy, accounting for a small fraction of global music revenues, but eventually Spotify’s early bet on streaming paid off.
As the following chart illustrates, it took a while for Spotify to really take off. By the time of its fifth birthday in 2013, the streaming pioneer had roughly 30 million active users and 8 million premium subscribers. Since then, Spotify's active user and premium subscriber numbers have continued to grow steadily though, reaching 678 million and 265 million, respectively, by the end of 2024.
All that user growth notwithstanding, Spotify has long struggled to become profitable. Between 2009 and 2023, the company, that went public in 2018 and is currently valued at roughly $130 billion, accumulated losses of more than €4 billion. 2024 turned out to be a pivotal year, however, as the music streaming leader reported a first-ever full-year profit of €1,138 million ($1,180 million) and investors are hoping for more of the same in the future.
