Spotify Now Has 70 Million Paid Subscribers

Spotify today announced on Twitter that it has hit a new milestone, with the streaming music service reaching a total of 70 million paid subscribers.

Over the course of the last six months, Spotify's paid subscriber base has grown by 10 million customers, up from 60 million in late July. When adding in customers who listen to the free ad-supported Spotify tier, the service has more than 140 million subscribers worldwide.

spotify logo
Comparatively, Apple Music has upwards of 30 million paying subscribers. Apple last shared Apple Music metrics in late September, when Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine said the service had "well over" 30 million subscribers. Since it's been three months since we last heard an update, Apple's current subscriber number is likely closer to 35 million subscribers, based on past growth rates.


In September of 2016, Apple Music had 17 million subscribers, so growth has nearly doubled over the course of the past year, but that hasn't stopped Spotify from continuing to grow at a rapid pace as well.

Apple Music subscriptions start at $9.99 per month following a free trial (with lower prices available for students), while Spotify continues to offer both a free tier and an upgraded on-demand listening tier also priced at $9.99 per month.

Spotify's new 70 million subscriber milestone comes following a recent confidential IPO filing with Securities and Exchange Commission. Spotify plans to go public through a direct listing, forgoing the traditional initial public offering. Without a traditional IPO, there will be no predetermined price for Spotify shares when it goes public.

Spotify is also currently facing a copyright lawsuit for allegedly using thousands of songs from artists like Tom Petty, Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, and the Doors without a license from publisher Wixen Music.

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

BJB Productions Avatar
92 months ago
I tried Apple Music, and I really, really wanted to like it... but for some reason I just couldn't get used to it. Spotify is always helping me discover much better new music. Just my 2 cents.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
92 months ago
Spotify (11 years old) and Apple Music (2 years old)
Not really a fair comparison at all. Apple has been in the online music business for 15 years now. They didn't need to ask for anybody to fill in any information to sign up - Apple already has your name, address, credit card, and email address. They didn't need to ask you to download an app. Literally all you had to do was update to a newer version of iOS (which was automatically downloaded and older versions would nag you to install), launch the stock music app, and tap to have your trial begin. If you forgot about it, you'd be automatically converted into a paying subscriber. And they had a massive and widely covered media event to launch the service, followed by a massive campaign ad.

In contrast, Spotify needs to convince you to find the app, then download it, then set up an account, then fill in all your payment info to upgrade to a paying account. And Spotify doesn't have media events (or if they do, they're not widely covered), and the ad campaign hasn't been anywhere near as massive.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
itsmilo Avatar
92 months ago
Good. I love Spotify. I tried AM but i just couldnt deal with the ugly pink on white and the horrible organiszed playlist selections.

I love the categories on Spotify and how they change based on the time of the day or season and the personalized playlists. Sharing with friends is also a lot easier. Playing om one device but controlling it from another is great too :)

Also AM has no web player, instant fail for work.

Oh and AM and it’s obnoxious obsession with hip hop can suck it
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
doomfront Avatar
92 months ago
I tried Apple Music, and I really, really wanted to like it... but for some reason I just couldn't get used to it. Spotify is always helping me discover much better new music. Just my 2 cents.
That's my biggest complaint about Apple Music. The recommendations are terrible

I have both AM and Spotify since Spotify has a deal where you can get their subscription and a subscription to Hulu for 5 bucks with student email address. I use Spotify way more than AM mainly because of the recommendations
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
92 months ago
Subscriber numbers for both Spotify (11 years old) and Apple Music (2 years old) are both respectable. I’m actually more impressed by Apple Music, achieving half the paid subscribers in less than one fifth the time.

Not sure about that IPO. Spotify is already stingy with royalties and a new shareholder-driven landscape probably won’t help that much. Spotify still loses money, while Apple only has a paid tier and can buffer its music streaming service all it want with its massive war chest. Just like Amazon & books/kindles, they can even operate at a segmental loss and still make gobs of money. Plus, they get customers into the product ecosystem. Spotify is a service-only company. I think competitors like Apple, Amazon, and Google, with their physical products (or, in Google’s case, ads) to bolster profit, will win in the end.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
92 months ago
Until Apple Music stops trying to spam hip-hop/rap down my throat as endlessly as they do their iOS updates then I'll stick to anything else.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)