It also said that Apple believed Spotify users on the app store were Apple’s customers and not Spotify’s. In March 2023, Spotify announced a partnership with Patreon, which Spotify claimed would “enable creators to expand their creative business through direct payments from fans, and allow fans to listen to their Patreon content on Spotify”. In May 2022, Spotify announced a partnership with the online game platform and game creation system Roblox, the partnership saw Spotify as the first streaming brand to have a presence within the game with the launch of “Spotify Island”.
User growth continued, reaching 20 million total active users, including five million paying customers globally and one million paying customers in the United States, in December 2012. In February 2017, Spotify announced the expansion of its United States operations in Lower Manhattan, New York City, at 4 World Trade Center, adding approximately 1,000 new jobs and retaining 832 existing positions. Later that same year, in March, Spotify removed all limits on the free service tier indefinitely, including mobile devices. In January 2012, the free trial periods began to expire, limiting users to ten hours of streaming each month and five plays per song. Spotify launched in the United States in July 2011, and offered a six-month, ad-supported trial period, during which new users could listen to an unlimited amount of music for free. Ek first had the idea for Spotify around 2002 when peer-to-peer music service Napster shut down and another illegal site Kazaa became popular.
In a further escalation of the dispute with Apple, on 13 March 2019, Spotify filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission over unfair app store practices. Spotify released the first version of its Apple Watch app in November 2018, allowing playback control of the iPhone via the watch. Furthermore, he stated that “There is nothing in Apple’s conduct that ‘amounts to a violation of applicable antitrust laws.’ Far from it. … I would be happy to facilitate an expeditious review and approval of your app as soon as you provide us with something that is compliant with the App Store’s rules”. Listeners will be able to link their Spotify to ChatGPT, asking it to find anything from a specific playlist to a podcast topic. In May 2020, Spotify teamed up with ESPN and Netflix to curate podcasts around their Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance, and in September, Spotify signed a deal with Chernin Entertainment to produce movies and TV shows.
SoundCloud: The Songs You Love
On 5 February 2020, Spotify announced its intent to acquire Bill Simmons’ sports and pop culture blog and podcast network The Ringer for an undisclosed amount. On 26 March 2019, Spotify announced they would acquire another podcast network, Parcast. On 6 February 2019, Spotify acquired the podcast networks Gimlet Media and Anchor FM Inc., with the goal of establishing themselves as a leading figure in podcasting. This was followed in May 2017 with the acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Niland, which uses technology to improve personalisation and recommendation features for users.
In response to the allegations about unfair compensation, Spotify claims that it is benefitting the industry by migrating users away from unauthorized copying and less monetized platforms to its free service tier, and then downgrades that service until they upgrade to paid accounts. Spotify distributes approximately 70% of its total revenue to rights-holders, who will then pay artists based on their individual agreements. Despite the extensive global coverage, the service remains unavailable in several countries and territories, including Afghanistan, British Indian Ocean Territory, Central African Republic, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Yemen. Among them is an increased lack of non-online social spaces, an frostybet casino increased lack of privacy from strangers, and a source of unbridled expression particularly with its media-related podcasts. Spotify users can also ‘jam’ sessions where users can create and contribute live music playing sessions with their Spotify friends. In April 2014, Spotify moved away from the peer-to-peer (P2P) system they had used to distribute music to users.
- Moreover, they are asking for a fairer redistribution system, as smaller artists are disproportionately disadvantaged on Spotify.
- Years after growth and expansion, a November 2012 report suggested strong momentum for the company.
- Before May 2020, all service users were limited to 10,000 songs in their library, after which they would receive an “Epic collection, friend” notification and would not be able to save more music to their library.
- In April 2011, Spotify announced via a blog post that they would drastically cut the amount of music that free members could access, effective 1 May 2011.
- In March 2016, Spotify launched six playlists branded as Fresh Finds, including the main playlist and Fire Emoji, Basement, Hiptronix, Six Strings, and Cyclone (hip-hop, electronic, pop, guitar-driven, and experimental music respectively).
- In October 2017, Microsoft announced that it would be ending its Groove Music streaming service by December, with all music from users transferring to Spotify as part of a new partnership.
- The features were announced by CEO Daniel Ek at a press conference, with Ek saying that a common user complaint about the service was that “Spotify is great when you know what music you want to listen to, but not when you don’t”.
Spotify: Music and Podcasts
Daniel Ek, co-founder and CEO of Spotify, discussed “what he called an artist-friendly streaming solution”. However, artists such as Gary Glitter and Lostprophets are still hidden from Spotify’s radio stations. In May 2018, Spotify attracted criticism for its “Hate Content & Hateful Conduct policy” that removed the music of R. A study has shown that record labels keep a high amount of the money earned from Spotify, and the CEO of Merlin Network, a representative body for over 10,000 independent labels, has also observed significant yearly growth rates in earnings from Spotify, while clarifying that Spotify pays labels, not artists. The free service tier has led to a variety of major album releases being delayed or withdrawn from the service.
Direct public offering
Using PC streaming, a similar structure to the one used today allowed the listener to play songs freely, but with ads every 4–7 songs depending on listening duration. Ek’s initial pitch to Lorentzon was not initially related to music, but rather a way for streaming content such as video, digital films, images or music to drive advertising revenue. While certain musicians laud the service for offering a lawful option to combat piracy and for remunerating artists each time their music is played, others have voiced objections to Spotify’s royalty structure and its effect on record sales. Operating as a freemium service, the basic features are free with advertisements and limited control, while additional features, such as offline listening and commercial-free listening, are offered via paid subscriptions. Spotifya is a Swedish audio streaming and media service provider founded in April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon.
- In February 2010, Spotify received a small investment from Founders Fund, where board member Sean Parker was recruited to assist Spotify in “winning the labels over in the world’s largest music market”.
- In September 2020, Spotify, Epic, and other companies founded The Coalition for App Fairness, which aims for better conditions for the inclusion of apps in app stores.
- In November 2015, Spotify introduced a “Fan Insights” panel in limited beta form, letting artists and managers access data on monthly listeners, geographical data, demographic information, music preferences and more.
- This eligibility rule only applies to royalties for sound recordings, not musical compositions.
- With the Spotify app, you can explore an extensive library of music and podcasts for free.
- Spotify provides access to over 100 million songs, 5 million podcasts, and 4 billion playlists.
- Spotify users can also ‘jam’ sessions where users can create and contribute live music playing sessions with their Spotify friends.
It distributes approximately 70% of its total revenue to rights holders (often record labels), who then pay artists based on individual agreements. Unlike physical or download sales, which pay artists a fixed price per song or album sold, Spotify pays royalties based on the number of artist streams as a proportion of total songs streamed. As of 2022, Spotify is the current sponsor of Spanish football club FC Barcelona, with music artists like Drake, Travis Scott, and Ed Sheeran collaborating with the club by changing their shirts into their artist logo, sometimes used for album promotions. Users can search for music based on artist, album, or genre, and can create, edit, and share playlists. The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports.
Telegram Web “A version”? Can’t find anything about it. Apparently identical to version Z
The subscription costs $0.99 and is supposed to be a combination of the free and premium tiers. On September 10, 2025, it was announced that Lossless would be rolling out to Premium listeners gradually to more than 50 markets through October. Spotify introduced a Family subscription in October 2014, which allows up to 5 family members to have a premium subscription.
Of that amount, about 58.5% of its total revenue goes to the owners of sound recording copyrights, and the other 12% goes to the owners of musical compositions. In December 2013, the company launched a new website, “Spotify for Artists”, explaining its business model and revenue data. There was no provision regarding worker ownership of content created, one of the initial demands. In February 2020, Spotify announced it was acquiring The Ringer, and inheriting the previously established union. One month after Spotify acquired Gimlet Media in February 2019, 75% of staff at Gimlet Media went public, signing union cards and seeking voluntary recognition. Moreover, they are asking for a fairer redistribution system, as smaller artists are disproportionately disadvantaged on Spotify.
The primary point of criticism centers around what artists, music creators, and the media have described as “unsustainable” compensation. Spotify Wrapped had generated two billion impressions worldwide, and more ninety million Spotify users share their Spotify Wrapped statistics online, especially through social media. Spotify also has a ‘blend’ feature in which two users’ music preferences are mixed in a shared playlist. Spotify had added social media-related features to its platform, especially to compete for ad revenue and to increase its media-related users.
In November 2021, Spotify hid the “shuffle” button for albums following a request by singer Adele, arguing that tracks in albums are supposed to be played back in the order specified by the artist to “tell a story”. In September 2020, Spotify, Epic, and other companies founded The Coalition for App Fairness, which aims for better conditions for the inclusion of apps in app stores. In 2019, under iOS 13, it became possible to play Spotify music using Siri commands. Additionally, Apple stated that they have attempted to work with Spotify to integrate the service better with Apple’s products, such as Siri and Apple Watch. Two days later, Apple responded, stating that the claim was misleading rhetoric and that Spotify wanted benefits of a free app without being a free app.
In October 2017, Microsoft announced that it would be ending its Groove Music streaming service by December, with all music from users transferring to Spotify as part of a new partnership. Spotify offers DRM-protected audio content, including over 100 million songs and over 7 million podcast titles, from record labels and media companies. In 2016, Spotify was criticized for allegedly making certain artists’ music harder to find than others, as these artists would release their music to the rival streaming service Apple Music before releasing it to Spotify. Spotify has been criticised by artists and producers including Taylor Swift and Thom Yorke, who have argued that Spotify does not fairly compensate musicians, and both withdrew their music from the service. However, there has been some concern about the music streaming platform’s social media features. Before May 2020, all service users were limited to 10,000 songs in their library, after which they would receive an “Epic collection, friend” notification and would not be able to save more music to their library.
In February 2021, Spotify announced their plans to introduce a HiFi subscription, to offer listening in high fidelity, lossless sound quality. This eligibility rule only applies to royalties for sound recordings, not musical compositions. Some of the premium options users may choose from include individual, duo, family, and student.


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