Spotify: First to 100M Paying Customers !

Spotify Sets an Amazing Record

Spotify is the first company to achieve 100 million paying customers.  
 
No one else has achieved this!

Apple is a distant #2.  Spotify's paid subcribers are up over 30 percent from a year ago, with 217 million total subscribers.  Spotify launched in India only last February so there is still much room to grow.  Spotify's paying base is about double of Apple's, and this does not seem likely to change with Apple's current only-average offerings (Apple is not a leader in HD music, for example).  Spotify also got the EU to start an antitrust investigation of Apple, over the the appstore being non-competitive.

As these numbers continue to grow, it becomes less and less likely that any other streaming service can match them - there will be fewer and fewer in the potential pool of paying customers.  This means time is of the essence, for all of Spotify's competitors - whatever moves they are going to make, they need to do it now - and do it quickly, and comprehensively.  

Spotify also has much potential growth possibiities from partner arrangements (like with speakers), and with various kinds of advertising.  But they have to always be careful not to make their base of paying unhappy with too much advertising.
 
In 2018, overall music industry income grew at the fastest rate in many years, which is good news for everyone!
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