Spotify Raises $526 Million, Converts More Free Users Into Paying Ones

Spotify released their numbers recently and it's all good news.

On Wednesday (June 10), the website announced that it currently has 75 million users, 20 million of whom are paying subscribers. Billboard reports that the company has been very successful in transforming free users into paying ones. Statistics showed a slight increase in this ratio from the past when Spotify averaged one paying user out of every four. Only five months ago, Spotify announced that they surpassed 15 million users, having surpassed the 13 million mark about 10 months ago. This announcement came two days after Apple unveiled their new music streaming service.

The company is now worth $8.53 billion, having closed a funding round of $526 million on Tuesday (June 9), according to The Wall Street Journal. Back in April, the Journal announced that Spotify was looking to raise half a billion dollars. Thanks to several generous investors, they were able to surpass this goal. The many investors include Abu Dhabi’s sovereign-wealth fund, and asset managers, hedge funds and venture capital firms in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, TeliaSonora AB, a Nordic telecommunications company and longtime partner that pitched in $115 million for a 1.4-percent stake, according to the report.

It's safe to say that business is booming. In celebration of their numbers, the company created a new playlist, which you can steam below. The playlist include songs from Passion Pit,m Hozier, D'Angelo, Pitbull and more.

Apple, Tidal and other companies alike are presumed to be Spotify's biggest competitors.

As Billboard notes, Spotify has had success converting free users into paying customers using the freemium business model.