Spotify Premium Prices Rise Again Amid AI Push and Investments

Spotify, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, is the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, with more than 696 million monthly active users and 276 million subscribers across over 180 markets as of mid-2025[1][2]. The company revolutionized music consumption by shifting the industry from a transaction-based model (buying albums or tracks) to an access-based, on-demand streaming platform[3]. Today, Spotify offers over 100 million music tracks, nearly 7 million podcast titles, and 350,000 audiobooks, positioning itself as a comprehensive hub for digital audio content[2][3]. ## History and Evolution Since its launch, Spotify has consistently innovated, first by making music streaming mainstream and then by expanding into podcasts and, in 2022, audiobooks[2][3]. This diversification has allowed Spotify to attract a broader audience and reduce reliance on music licensing, a historically challenging area for profitability. The company’s mission is to “unlock the potential of human creativity,” aiming to enable a million artists to make a living from their art while providing billions of fans with access to a vast array of audio content[2][3]. ## Key Achievements Spotify’s growth has been remarkable: in 2024, it paid out a record $10 billion to the music industry, bringing its total payouts since inception to nearly $60 billion[6]. The platform has democratized music distribution, enabling over 10,000 artists to earn more than $100,000 annually from Spotify alone—a significant increase from just 10,000 artists earning $10,000 annually a decade ago[6]. Spotify now accounts for about a third of global recorded streaming revenue and over half of independent labels’ streaming revenue, underscoring its pivotal role in the music ecosystem[6]. ## Current Status and Strategy Financially, Spotify reported €4.2 billion in revenue for Q2