Spotify says it paid out a record $10 billion to the music industry in 2024, bringing its total contribution since it was founded in 2006 to nearly $60 billion, the company revealed in a blog post on Tuesday.
The music streamer estimates that over 10,000 artists currently generate over $100,000 per year on the platform. In comparison, only 10,000 artists generated at least $10,000 per year back in 2014, when Spotify contributed around $1 billion to the music industry with around 15 million subscribers as global recorded music revenues hit $13 billion.
“It’s because the system we’ve built together is working, and where we are now is only the beginning. Today, there are more than 500 million paying listeners across all music streaming services,” Spotify vice president of music business David Kaefer wrote. “A world with 1 billion paying listeners is a realistic goal we should collectively set.”
“Our goal is to help artists get their work in front of existing and future fans, continue to innovate on their behalf and deliver it in a way that inspires people to pay for it,” he continued. “Onboarding people to paid streaming is precisely what has increased our payouts — tenfold — over the past decade.”
The update comes as Spotify reached a total of 252 million paid subscribers and 640 million monthly active users in its third quarter of 2024 and is on track for its first full year of profitability.
The company further noted on Tuesday that more than 60% of its premium tier users were previously on its ad-supported free tier.
For the fourth quarter, the company expects its premium subscriber base to grow to 260 million and MAUs to grow to 665 million. Spotify will report its earnings results for the quarter on Feb. 4 before the market open.
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