Spotify Hits Milestone: $10 Billion Paid to Music Industry in 2024, $60 Billion Since Founding

In 2014, global recorded music revenues hit $13 billion. Spotify Technology’s SPOT annual contribution at the time was around $1 billion, with about 15 million paying subscribers. 

In 2024, Spotify alone paid a record $10 billion to the music industry, totaling about $60 billion since its founding. 

Today, there are over 500 million paying listeners across all music streaming services. The company believes that the goal of 1 billion paying listeners is very likely.

Also Read: Warner Music Q4 Earnings: Flat Digital Revenue Growth, Operating Cash Flow Falls

Spotify reported third-quarter EPS of $1.59, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.84. The company reported quarterly sales of $4.38 billion (versus $3.65 billion a year ago), topping the analyst consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. Premium subscribers grew 12% to 252 million.

Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan flagged Spotify’s moat in global audio, user engagement, and margin boost post-2023 restructuring. Sheridan expects Spotify to progress toward more consistent and sustained capital returns in 2025.

Meanwhile, Spotify collaborated with Universal Music Group on Monday. JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth noted that the company’s differentiated freemium model leads to subscriber conversions.

Price Action: Spotify stock surged over 139% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock through First Trust International Equity Opportunities ETF FPXI and First Trust Dow Jones International Internet ETF FDNI.

Price Action: Spotify stock is up 1.68% at $522.59 at the last check on Tuesday.

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