Spotify has surpassed a massive milestone of 205 million paid subscribers, confirming its status as the leader in streaming platforms.
The fourth quarter earnings also showed losses consistent with previous quarters but still less than predictions – although this achievement was somewhat overshadowed by news of 600 layoffs just days before being announced.
In comparison to competitors such as Apple Music and Amazon Music, Spotify is streets ahead; their respective subscriber numbers from 2019-2020 stand at 60m and 55m respectively.
A November 2022 UK report found that streaming services are unlikely to ever make sufficient “excess profits” to improve payouts to artists. It also found that 60% of streams were for the top 0.4% of artists.
