INFOGRAPHIC: Spotify’s subscriber count surges past 260 million
A big part of that success came from its strategy of going all-in on content beyond music.
Every December, millions of Spotify users open their apps, eager to see their Spotify Wrapped, the highly anticipated year-in-review that turns listening habits into a shareable badge of honour. Some users cringe at their top-played songs, others wear their obscure picks like a badge of pride.
But beyond its cultural relevance in the music streaming space, Spotify Wrapped was a secret weapon for Spotify’s business with a 10% higher participation than the previous year.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
By the time Wrapped rolled out in 2024, Spotify had already added millions of new subscribers, but the viral marketing push helped the company close the year with 263 million premium subscribers – an 11% increase from the previous year. Total monthly active users surged to 675 million, up 12% from last year, per its fourth-quarter financial results.
That kind of growth is impressive on its own, but apart from the 'Wrapped" campaign, Spotify has been busy expanding in other directions—video podcasts, AI-generated playlists, audiobooks, and partner programs for creators—all of which equally helped fuel its record-breaking year.
Financially, it was a winning formula. Spotify’s revenue climbed 16% to €4.2 billion in Q4 2024, while operating income hit an all-time high of €477 million. The company credited its growth not only to Wrapped but also to strong performance in emerging markets, particularly in Latin America and other global regions where it edged out competitors.
Louis Eriakha
Yet, while Spotify’s numbers are up from its successful campaigns, the company was also making tough decisions to boost profitability behind the scenes. Layoffs, reduced marketing budgets, and a slash to podcasting investments were all part of a mix. Still, it managed to pay out $10 billion to the music industry in 2024, bringing its lifetime total to $60 billion.
Investors, too, took notice. Spotify’s stock jumped nearly 10% after the latest earnings report, a sign of confidence in its future.
Looking ahead, Spotify anticipates smaller user gains than in the most recent quarter, expecting to add 2 million more Premium subscribers in the first quarter of 2025, and bringing in another €4.2 billion in revenue. Growth might not be as explosive as it was in previous quarters, but if 2024 proved anything, it’s that Spotify has figured out how to win—not just by streaming music, but by becoming something much bigger.
