Spotify Continues to Outpace Apple Music with 50 Million Subscribers

Spotify has hit the 50 million subscriber mark, the company tweeted on Thursday. The music streaming giant eclipsed that milestone by way of gaining 10 million subscribers in the last six months. That 25 percent increase cements Spotify’s lead over its closest competitor, Apple Music — at least for the time being. Cupertino’s own music streaming service reportedly had 20 million subscribers as of December, just two years after first launching.

Thank you to our 50 million subscribers. #Spotify50 http://pic.twitter.com/eXkOV71bwu

— Spotify (@Spotify) March 2, 2017

That doesn’t mean everything is peachy for the streaming company. Since launching in 2008, the Swedish company has yet to turn a profit. That could change in 2017, however, as a board member told Business Insider in December that profitability could start to become a priority at the company, and there’s a good chance that Spotify will hit that milestone this year. The company may also begin listing its shares publicly next year, according to the BBC.

Spotify isn’t done expanding, either. The company is reportedly getting ready to unveil high-quality, lossless audio streaming service dubbed Spotify Hi-Fi for an extra $5 to $10 a month, according to The Verge. Spotify is apparently testing the Hi-Fi streaming on a small group of users, which might point toward a wider launch being imminent. While this extra revenue could help Spotify achieve profitability, it might also spell doom for competitor Tidal, whose high-fidelity and lossless quality has been its only true selling point. Jay Z’s streaming service has been trailing Spotify by tens of millions of subscribers — and there’s even some evidence that Tidal has been inflating its subscriber numbers, Forbes reported.

Spotify may be the “standout success for streaming music,” industry analyst Mark Mulligan told the BBC. But, even though Spotify denies claims that its growth is slowing, as the company expands, it’s likely that it will have trouble keeping that growth rate at the same pace, Mulligan said.

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