Spotify’s crusade against piracy and traditional music distribution seems to be paying off, if new stats are anything to go by.
Launching down-under around 3 months ago, and originally launching in 2008 in Sweden, Spotify has quickly gained global and local attention as the go-to streaming music service, even more-so after their US launch.
And to back this attention up, Spotify’s Chief Content Officer and Managing Director of Spotify North America, Ken Parks, told a crowd at London’s Global Business Summit on Creative Content that Spotify now has a total of 15 million active users globally, with that number including free customers. He also says that 4 million of these users actually have a paid subscription.
While that may seem small compared to Apple’s 400 million active users with credit cards, the iTunes Store is yet to announce any consistant way to make money from customers, apart from iTunes Match, whereas Spotify now has a guaranteed 4 million paying customers each month. Apple also has the advantage of being available in more countries.
So while Spotify is yet to become the number 1 way to listen to music, their growth as a popular form of music distribution is undeniable. Hopefully we see some Australian numbers soon, to see whether Terence’s choice of using JB Hi-Fi Now puts him in the minority or majority.