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Spotify conquered the music industry, but still can't make a profit

The company that turned the music world on its head
Humble beginnings in Sweden
Spotify officially launches
Most streamed tracks in 2008
First-year losses
Advertisers jump in
New deals and growth
Making waves
Confident for the future
More international funding
Spotify goes to America
When Facebook met Spotify
Millions' milestones
Rising revenues
Swift condemnation
Radiohead quits Spotify too
Daniel Ek makes the case for the defence
Prince and Neil Young remove their music
A year of acquisitions
Major record labels finally on board
Stock market debut
The home of podcasts
Most streamed songs of all time
Drake stole the decade
How much is Spotify worth?
Owners’ net worth
200 million monthly users but still no annual profit
Over a decade later, Spotify makes a profit...
But it's not made to last
Lockdown leads to less streaming?
Supporting artists through the pandemic
What's next for Spotify?
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Samir Hussein/Stringer/Getty Images

The company that turned the music world on its head

In the early 2000s, the record industry was being crippled by piracy, as illegal streaming sites made it easy for people to simply download a song, album or movie for free. But in 2006, Spotify launched their ground-breaking – and legal – streaming service. Now worth a projected $28 billion (£22.5bn) and boasting over 130 million paid subscribers and over 285 million monthly active users, how did Spotify do it? And why is it still failing to make an annual profit? Click or scroll through to find out about Spotify's story.

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Alan Wass

07 May 2020

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