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Spotify is looking at lossless audio, DJ mixing functionality, and superfan perks for its upcoming Spotify Music Pro tier to push upgrades. Apple Music Classical, is expanding content partnerships with orchestras and making its app available on desktops. Amazon Music is bundling subscriptions with Audible for possible audience discovery and cross-pollination.

Spotify is the top platform for digital audio in the US, with 105.8 million listeners this year, followed by Amazon Music (54.2 million) and iHeartRadio (51.5 million). Use this chart: For marketers and brand partners, this milestone signals a deeper shift in media habits鈥攁nd more premium, ad-free environments.

Apple was also fined 鈧�1.84 billion ($1.99 billion) last year over its anti-steering practices after an antitrust lawsuit filed by Spotify. Meta previously addressed DMA violations by allowing Instagram and Facebook users in the EU who don鈥檛 pay for ad removal to see fewer full-screen, unskippable personalized ads.

While CreatorIQ named Netflix the most dominant brand on TikTok and Instagram, Spotify was the most dominant brand on YouTube. Spotify also had the total highest EMV in 2024, which is tied to its high creator retention rate (83%), according to the report.

YouTube鈥檚 share was more than four times as big as the shares claimed by any other ad-supported service鈥攁d-supported Pandora represented 3%, while ad-supported Spotify, SiriusXM, and Amazon Music each represented 2%.

Spotify never rolled out its Premium Mini option in the US. The mobile-only plan with ad-free music and limited offline listening didn鈥檛 get a wide release perhaps to avoid losing higher-paying subscribers.

YouTube鈥檚 jack-of-all-trades identity could also be a limiting factor in its ad take.It has more overall users than Facebook, Netflix, or Spotify and a greater amount of total raw engagement (in terms of time spent). But its identity as a leading social media platform, premium video provider, or audio streamer isn鈥檛 always entirely obvious.

Among active users, TV remains strong, Netflix and Spotify dominate, and social media is in trouble. In the preceding sections, time spent metrics were calculated against the entire US adult population. In this section, we examine how much time active users spend per day with their chosen media.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how Spotify reached sustained profitability, what a 鈥渄eluxe鈥� tier might look like, and where the audio streaming giant goes from here. Tune in to the discussion with host Marcus Johnson and analyst Daniel Konstantinovic.

In context, artists need 500,000 Spotify streams at $0.004 each to earn $2,000, per Unchained Music. Virtual events such as concerts present a viable venue to promote and engage fans without having to rely on streams or book large arenas. Metallica, for instance, has appeared in a Fortnite concert and an Apple Vision Pro immersive concert.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what to make of Google deciding to keep cookies, whether a Spotify for movies service could work, if people will want to have a conversation with their newspaper, if Disney can be as addictive as Netflix, why there are more Olympic teams than countries, and more. Tune in to the discussion with host Marcus Johnson, our analysts Ross Benes and Blake Droesch, and vice president of content Paul Verna.

That includes legacy seafood brand Gorton鈥檚, which invited local Austin influencers to its Shrimp Shack and held a cooking demo with creator Shay Spence, as well as Spotify, which hosted panels with top-name podcasters like Sarah Foster. Creator platform Kajabi also rented space on nearby Rainey Street. Patreon COO Paige Fitzgerald interviewed creator Joshua Fields Millburn on stage.

When considering content growth outside of new movies and TV shows, Netflix should also embrace the trajectory of Spotify, said Verna鈥攚hich has expanded beyond its music streaming reputation through video podcast offerings and partnerships. 鈥淢aking that brand flip or changing the perception is a very tall order, but I think Netflix has the capacity and the resources,鈥� he said.

Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe to the 鈥淏ehind the Numbers鈥� podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, YouTube, Podbean or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow us on Instagram.

Today, the percentage of US Spotify users who are subscribers, rather than ad-supported listeners, continues to tick upward, however slowly: By 2028, 57.5% of Spotify鈥檚 US listeners will be subscribers, up just 1 percentage point from 2024鈥檚 figure. Read the full report, Audio Ad Spending 2024.

The suspension of service from international streamers like Spotify and Amazon Music likely lowered participation. The largest YoY change was in live TV viewership. The percentage of respondents watching live TV channels decreased 5.5 percentage points to 72.0%. Turkey. Time spent with mobile devices in Turkey significantly exceeded the regional average.

UID has already scored major partnerships with companies like Spotify and Roku that could help fuel adoption. TTD also wants to close its proposed acquisition of metadata firm Sincera in Q1, strengthening its demand-side platform with more robust data as competitors try to capitalize on the industry鈥檚 growing signal loss.

Spotify has used them for a while, offering free-tier users 30 minutes of uninterrupted listening after watching a video ad. The format is showing up in ecommerce. For example, Fox ran a rewarded advertising campaign on Amazon homepage in 2021, offering Amazon credit as a reward.

Note: Our audio creator revenues forecast includes all revenues generated by US-based independent creators on digital audio distribution platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify and independent distribution platforms. It includes advertising, sponsorships, platform payouts, subscriptions, merchandising, and other revenues from podcasts, audiobooks, and digital music and radio content.

It partnered with Spotify Premium and can use other tie-ins and products to sustain rapid growth.

Platforms like Netflix and Spotify would likely gain users and time spent if the ban goes into effect, but they would also lose an important marketing vehicle. Individual musicians and artists who rely on TikTok for discovery would be hit even harder. Creators are split on a TikTok alternative.