Following the massive introduction of Apple Music at the company’s WWDC 2015, it was almost inevitable that the other guys in the race would fight back. While we’re still waiting on any word from Tidal, Spotify didn’t want to waste a moment by releasing data to refute the claims that they’re essentially dead in the water.
The streaming service was quick to point out that they have 20 million paid subscribers, with 10 million joining in the last year alone, in addition to 75 million users total. This is even after losing an enormous superstar like Taylor Swift, who pulled her music in November 2014.
Spotify has also added more than 5 million paying subscribers since losing Taylor Swift, music's biggest star.
— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) June 10, 2015
Fighting claims that artists get next to nothing in payment from the service, Spotify also boasted that they’ve paid $3 billion in royalties with $300 million just in 2015.
But things are not all great. As Re/code points out, despite it having revenue’s north of $1 billion in 2014, they’re still losing money. In that same period, they were operating at a loss of $197 million, according to the New York Times.
With a company like Apple looming to take a deep share of your business, Spotify has to be on the offensive if they want to survive. Whether that’s a smart move to save them or a last stand, only time will tell.
Somewhere in Norway, the Tidal team weeps and sheds a tear.
