It seems that Spotify is a global phenomenon. According to a new study, there are now over 50 million people who have enrolled in the streaming service. And, the average American spends 32.1 hours a month listening to music on the app. However, there’s still a lot of work to do. For example, there’s still no lossless tier.
Europe is the continent with the highest number of users
Spotify is a popular music streaming service that has grown rapidly over the past few years. The service is now available in over 80 European countries. Its ad-free and ad-supported model allows users to listen to thousands of songs, podcasts, and radio stations on their smartphones, PCs, and tablets.
While the company has a global user base, the US is its largest market. It is estimated that there are over 65 million Spotify subscribers in the United States alone.
There are also millions of users in Europe. While the majority of these users are young adults, there are many people over 55 as well. Most of these users are part of an illegal Spotify community.
As of the second quarter of 2021, 523.9 million people were subscribed to various music streaming services around the world. Spotify had over a fifth of that total, or 299 million people.
Although the majority of users are in the United States, Europe and Latin America are both growing rapidly. In the third quarter of 2022, Europe accounted for 67 percent of all Spotify subscribers. And in 2020, the continent will hold three-quarters of the total market.
Despite the growth, it’s not easy to get a hold of Spotify in many parts of the world. For example, you can’t access the service in Russia or Bosnia and Herzegovina. But there are some countries where the service is legal.
In many African countries, the lack of internet connectivity means that Spotify isn’t very accessible. However, there are alternative services like Boomplay that have filled in the void.
Spotify’s official website has a user profile option, where you can see a list of Spotify statistics. You can see who’s using the app, when they’re using it, how much time they spend on it, and more.
Amercians spend an average of 32.1 hours listening to music on Spotify
According to a report published by Goodwater Capital Spotify, Americans listen to an average of 32.1 hours of music per week. This represents an increase from the previous year. Streaming is also driving the increased amount of time people are spending listening to music.
Streaming is a big part of the story, but it is only a portion of the overall story. Many people enjoy music in many different ways. While they may not be as dedicated to music as a die-hard audiophile, they are certainly looking for new music. A poll found that almost half of US teenagers enjoy country music.
In the United States, more people are streaming music than ever before. The number of streams grew to 106 billion in 2013, and the pace of weekly streams reached a record high in 2014. The IFPI, a global trade body for recorded music, released a report stating that Americans spend 18 hours a week listening to music.
The study indicates that while people still prefer to listen to music on AM/FM radio, the shift toward digital and streaming has created a bigger opportunity for consumers. More than 50% of all music is consumed via these services. Those who have subscriptions to premium services like Spotify use an average of 2.4 MB of data per minute.
Spotify’s user base is made up of millennials and younger adults. Most users are between the ages of 25 and 34. These younger users are most likely to engage with the service.
While the total amount of time Americans are spending listening to music is increasing, the actual number of songs is also rising. Among the surveyed US citizens, the most popular genres are rock and country. Other cultural genres that were highly preferred by Millennials include Bollywood and Regional Mexican.
Amazon Music and Apple Music have more songs
Both Amazon Music and Apple Music boast a huge number of songs. However, which one offers the better music experience? The answer depends on your needs.
Apple Music’s catalog is more comprehensive than that of Amazon Music. Unlike the latter, Apple offers lossless hi-fi listening for free. Moreover, Apple’s iCloud Music Library syncs across devices signed in with your Apple ID. That means you can access your entire library on iPads, iPhones, Macs, and PCs.
The Music app comes pre-installed on all iOS devices. Its clean white interface is organized into tabs. Each tab has a different type of recommendation. Depending on your preferences, you can check out suggestions based on genre, time of day, or other activities.
Spotify has a free tier that lets you play music on your phone. You can also pay for a premium subscription. With Premium, you can create and share playlists, and control playback with two or more users.
Amazon Music Unlimited is ad-free. It offers over seven million tracks in 24-bit Ultra HD quality. Additionally, you can save up to 100,000 songs to up to ten devices.
Amazon Prime subscribers get a discount on Amazon Music HD, so you can listen to your favorite music without paying any extra. In addition, the service has a large library of classical, indie, and hip-hop tracks.
Amazon’s algorithmic recommendations are not as precise as Apple’s. And some artists have pulled their music from the service because of misinformation.
On the other hand, Apple’s Replay feature resurfaces songs throughout the year, enabling you to hear them again. While the service does not offer the same social media integration as Spotify, you can post your favorite songs directly to your social networks.
Collaborative Playlist feature
Spotify’s collaborative playlist feature allows you to collaborate on songs with your friends and music-loving acquaintances. It can also be used to spread the word about your favorite artists. And, since it’s free, you can even promote your own work.
Using the collaborative playlist feature is simple. To get started, simply navigate to the playlist you want to make collaborative. Once there, tap the ellipsis icon, which opens a menu with a few options. Choose the “Make Collaborative” option.
Next, click the “Add to” option. This is where you can either add songs directly to the collaborative playlist or invite others to join. Adding a song means it will be displayed in your Library and the name of the adder will show up in the header.
When it comes to removing songs from a collaborative playlist, the same process applies. You’ll see a “Remove from” option on the same screen. Just make sure you select the correct option. If you’re on a mobile device, long-tap on the song and you’ll be given the choice to delete it.
Aside from being a fun way to spread the word about your own music, a collaborative playlist can actually boost your Spotify statistics. For instance, if your playlist is shared with others, they’ll see your avatar at the top of the screen.
The most obvious way to do this is to share a link. This makes it easier for your friends to find and listen to your playlist. As a bonus, you can share it with the click of a button. However, you don’t have a lot of control over the process.
Lastly, you can’t actually change the picture of the playlist itself. But, if you’re a collaborator, you can reorder the tracks.
Lossless tier still nowhere to be found
Spotify is one of the world’s most popular music streaming apps. It has more than 82 million tracks available and over four million podcast titles. But it’s not the only way to listen to high-quality audio. Other music streaming services offer hi-res music, including Apple Music and Tidal.
Apple Music added lossless streaming at no additional cost to its tier in June last year. The feature comes with a lucrative incentive for new subscribers. Since the launch, lossless audio has grown in popularity.
Amazon has also released a higher-fidelity streaming tier called “Amazon Music HD,” which is free for all subscribers. However, it’s not clear how many users have signed up.
Spotify plans to add a new tier to its subscription plan that will include lossless audio, but it hasn’t said when. This would be a huge step up from the company’s current Very High quality, which is based on a lossy compression system.
Spotify’s HiFi tier has been rumored since last year. It was originally slated to cost $5 to $10 per month. Then, it was rumored to launch in select markets by the end of 2021.
But the announcement was pushed back due to licensing tussles. It’s unclear if these delays will affect the launch of the HiFi tier. In any case, it’s unlikely Spotify will have a high-quality subscription tier without additional revenue.
However, Spotify has made some updates to its HiFi tier. It now supports Spotify Connect smart speakers. And it has a brand ambassador – Billie Eilish.
It’s still too early to know how Spotify will approach lossless audio, but it’s a good indication that the service is paying attention to the needs of audiophiles.
