Spotify reaches ‘100 million users’ milestone

Spotify Logo. File photo.

Music streaming service Spotify has confirmed that its monthly active user base has sailed past the 100 million mark for the first time.

A report by Business Insider said the Swedish app’s user base has pushed into new markets and attained an outstanding statistical growth from 75 million to 100 million, despite facing stiff competition from the likes of Apple Music.

In a statement on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), Spotify officials said they were adding some 1.8 million users to their service every month and that 30% of these were paying subscribers.

Overall, the service now boasts over 30 million new subscribers, while the remaining 70 million users still tune into their free subscription.

Apart from the recent surge in user popularity, the company has also overtaken fellow European startup Skype as the continent’s most promising and highly valued application.

Regardless of its newfound success, the company is reportedly still not making much profit, as evidenced by a 10-percent revenue drop in 2015.

These losses can be chiefly attributed to the payments it makes to music labels, artists and music rights holders, the report said.

Spotify has the music-streaming industry’s biggest paid subscriber base,  but the vast majority still tune in free with commercial breaks.

The company, which was founded in 2006, is still paying 80 percent of its revenue and has not yet shown a profit as it spends to grow internationally. Khristian Ibarrola