There are currently over 165 million subscribers and 195 million paying users to Spotify. However, the total user count is not the only thing you should know. Below we will look at some of the top playlists and podcasts that users are enjoying.

165 million subscribers

Spotify is the largest audio streaming platform in the world. The service, founded by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon in 2006, is available in over 184 countries. It allows users to listen to music and create playlists. They can choose to stream music or download it for offline listening. Besides free, they can pay for a subscription to listen to music without ads.

Spotify also has a paid podcast subscription tier. Users can listen to over 2.9 million podcasts on the platform. In addition, the company announced a Creator Fund that rewards users for content creation on its platform. This will help the company to monetize its content in the future.

Spotify’s subscriber base is increasing dramatically. During the second quarter of 2019, the company added seven million new paying subscribers. However, this growth came short of the company’s goals. Despite that, the company was able to increase its total monthly active user base to 365 million.

Another milestone was the launch of the Premium plan. With this plan, users can listen to high quality recordings and download songs for free. The service is a big competitor to Amazon Music, which has 55 million subscribers.

Spotify’s second quarter revenue was higher than expected. For the quarter, the company reported EUR 2.33 billion, compared with Wall Street’s estimate of EUR 2.29 billion. Although this is not a huge amount, it represents a significant increase compared to the EUR 1.15 billion it made in Q2 2018.

The most interesting thing about Spotify’s second quarter was its increased market share. As a result of this, the company’s total paid subscriber count increased by 20 percent.

195 million paying subscribers

Spotify has now crossed 195 million paid subscribers, the company announced last month. The numbers represent a 13% increase from the year before, and the company expects to reach 200 million subscribers by the end of this year.

During the quarter, Spotify saw a net gain of seven million paying users. This is well above the company’s guidance of adding six million net members. It also beat analysts’ expectations of adding 6.76 million new members.

Overall, Spotify reported a net loss of 41 cents per share. However, its gross profit margin was 24.7%, compared to 23.7% in Q3. In the same period a year ago, the company posted a profit of two million euros.

Spotify plans to invest in its platform to enhance its value proposition. However, the company will make these investments only if they are accretive to its margins.

Expenses increased in the third quarter due to higher personnel costs and platform investment. For this reason, Spotify recorded an operating loss of EUR228 million.

Gross margins are expected to be at around 24% in the fourth quarter. The company’s revenue grew 19% in the same period. Meanwhile, it saw double digit growth in podcast and ad-supported revenues.

Spotify’s monthly active users (MAUs) grew to 456 million. It attributed its growth to better-than-expected intake in India. Monthly active users were up by about 20 percent from the year before.

365 million monthly active users

Spotify is the world’s largest music streaming service. It is free to sign up and has a subscription option. Spotify also hosts a vast array of other services including podcasts and videos.

While Spotify is not new to the music business, it has taken a leap forward over the last two years. Its premium subscription plan has improved the sound quality of its tracks. The app has also acquired an artificial intelligence company. Now, it’s planning on adding more audio creation tools.

Despite its large subscriber base, Spotify has seen only a small fraction of its revenue come from advertising. This means it’s still very much in the growth stage. For example, it plans to add 74 million users in 2020.

Similarly, Spotify’s ad-supported MAUs have grown by 22 percent year over year. Spotify is also actively working on personalization. In the last quarter, the company said its most significant metrics performed better than expected.

Spotify has also had a lot of growth in the number of subscribers. In the last few months, the platform added nine million users.

Although the company is still a long way from reaching its goal of one billion subscribers, it has more than tripled its active user base since early 2017. And its monthly active users are up 21 percent.

Moreover, it’s now the most popular music streamer in the world. With a subscriber base of 365 million people, Spotify is on track to break the 400 million mark in the next few months.

Over 2.9 million podcasts

The number of podcasts on Spotify reached 2.9 million by the end of June. This number marks the highest number of podcasts offered by the company.

Spotify also highlighted its new paid subscription platform for podcasters, a feature it launched in the US in April. It also noted that traction was strong in India and Latin America. During the quarter, Spotify released 76 original and exclusive (O&E) podcasts.

According to eMarketer, podcast listening is growing at a fast pace in the United States. By the end of 2022, the number of podcast listeners will reach 424 million. In addition, the podcast industry is projected to generate $2 billion in revenue.

In the third quarter, Spotify posted an all-time high in ad revenues. Ads generated $375 million in revenue, beating analyst estimates. Those numbers are expected to grow to 30 or 40 percent of Spotify’s total earnings in five to 10 years.

Spotify announced a multi-year content partnership with WWE. Also, the company plans to allow other platforms to stream shows to its subscribers. Another feature is the addition of video podcast support.

Spotify also highlighted its ad revenue, which was up 75% from the year-ago period. Advertising is projected to account for up to 20% of its total revenue in 2022.

Meanwhile, the company has been investing heavily in the podcast business. Spotify’s podcast studios had double-digit year-over-year growth. Investing in original shows has helped Spotify acquire more new users. Among the most popular podcasts on Spotify are The Joe Rogan Experience and Call Her Daddy.

Top 20 most popular playlists

The top 20 most popular Spotify playlists are a mix of new and old. Most are curated by Spotify, which is different from simply digging through blogs or record stores. Some are personal, while others are created by the platform’s Shows & Editorial team.

If you are an artist or musician who wants to make it big on the platform, getting onto a popular Spotify playlist is a great way to get some attention. It also helps you reach fans in other countries.

Getting your music on a major Spotify playlist can give you hundreds of thousands of new followers. However, gaining a place on a high-profile list takes time.

For instance, the best playlists will feature new music from artists across the world. Today’s Top Hits is the top-ranked Spotify playlist, but it’s also more comprehensive in stats. Other notables include Pigeons & Planes Weekly, which includes new artists and old favorites.

Another popular playlist is Release Radar, which is a weekly playlist highlighting new songs from your favorite artists. It’s also customizable, so you can choose to have it public or private.

You can find similar artists on Release Radar, too. Similarly, there are dozens of other popular user playlists with huge followings.

If you’re looking for a stocked pond, the best Spotify playlists are a good place to start. A majority of the top 20 most popular playlists on the platform feature new music.

Ad-supported tier

As music streaming giants like Spotify expand their services, they are also trying to lure advertisers to the platform. One way they’re doing this is by launching a new ad-supported tier, which is being tested.

The ad-supported tier is not an expensive subscription tier. Instead, it offers a lot of potential. Advertisers have the chance to showcase a wide variety of products to a large audience. They can measure the ROI of their campaigns on the new Spotify streaming metrics suite.

In the past year, Spotify has made some significant moves to boost its ad-supported tier. It has introduced a new ad-skipping feature, and launched Active Media in Australia. These changes will hopefully give advertisers a clearer picture of how much their ad spends.

The company has a new policy that will limit political ads on the platform. This means the ads won’t be limited to elected officials or candidates. For example, the platform won’t ban ads for Super PACs.

However, this won’t be the only change. Spotify plans to expand its ad-supported tier, and will begin to test different price points. Some of the features will be similar to those available in the Premium tier, but will be available for less money.

Spotify isn’t the only streaming platform to pilot a lower-cost ad-supported tier. YouTube has also recently been testing a ad-skipping function. Amazon’s Prime Unlimited is another example of a low-priced music streaming tier.