The way we listen to music has changed dramatically over the past 20 years, and in the last decade especially we’ve steadily moved away from dedicated to music players to letting our phone do all the work. As network connections got quicker and being able to get access to fast 3G or even 4G LTE networks on the move become more and more likely, streaming services began to caught on. Pandora is still going strong, but more than just radio, people are streaming music as if they were tapping into a vast library of CDs no matter where they are. Despite lots of new players – including Apple Music – having launched in the last couple of years, Spotify still seems to be on top, with 30 Million subscribers.
In a Tweet commenting on Obama’s historical visit to Cuba, Daniel Ek, Spotify’s CEO and Founder, let the cat out of the bag detailing 30 Million subscribers on Spotify. This is a 10 Million Subscriber increase from June 2015, and a 20 Million increase from June 2014. It seems as though Apple’s big arrival in the streaming world hasn’t had quite the massive impact that people were expecting, as Spotify is still continuing to grow. The network has steadily been adding and trying new features, with the hope of drawing in more and more users , such as the recent launch of video and podcasts in some regions. Spotify sees growth only continuing, rather than slowing down, and feels that exclusives – such as Kanye’s new Life of Pablo on TIDAL – aren’t really doing that much to entice people away from the service.
Spotify’s success might have a lot to do with the fact that the green streaming service has become a part of people’s lives now, and it’s something that people regularly use on their commute to and from work and so on. It’s also featured in a number of other apps like Facebook’s Messenger and fitness apps, too. A service like Spotify does need to evolve however, and following on from a pair of acquisitions earlier this year, it appears as though the brand isn’t just going to look backwards and expect to keep going forwards. What Spotify have in mind for the future however is unclear, but it’ll no doubt be interesting to see.