The future of streaming music

Spotify has become one of the biggest music and audio platforms in the world, but the most interesting part of its story is not just that it grew. It is how fast it grew, how long that growth continued, and what that could mean for independent artists trying to find listeners in the years ahead.

When looking at Spotify’s user growth, the best number to use is monthly active users, often shortened to MAUs. This includes both people using Spotify for free with ads and people paying for Spotify Premium. Spotify has also explained in its own filings that MAUs are an estimate and may not perfectly equal the number of unique people, because one person may use multiple accounts and some accounts may be shared. [1]

Still, MAUs are one of the clearest ways to understand Spotify’s overall reach.

Spotify’s Monthly Active User Growth: 2016–2025

Over the last decade, Spotify grew from 123 million monthly active users at the end of 2016 to 751 million monthly active users at the end of 2025. That means Spotify added about 628 million monthly active users over that period.

Year	Spotify Monthly Active Users
2016	123M
2017	159M
2018	207M
2019	271M
2020	345M
2021	406M
2022	489M
2023	602M
2024	675M
2025	751M

Sources: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]

That is a huge increase. In simple terms, Spotify became more than six times larger in monthly active users from 2016 to 2025.

The early years were especially aggressive. Spotify went from 123 million users in 2016 to 271 million users by the end of 2019. Then, during the next few years, the platform continued to grow through a mix of international expansion, free-tier growth, podcasts, Spotify Wrapped, mobile usage, and more people around the world becoming comfortable with streaming as the normal way to listen to music.

By 2024 and 2025, the growth rate was still strong, but not as explosive as the earlier years. That is normal. Once a platform gets this large, adding another 50, 70, or 100 million users becomes much harder than it was when the company was smaller.

What the Growth Trend Shows

Spotify’s user growth tells us a few important things.

First, streaming is not a side category anymore. It is the main way many people discover and listen to music.

Second, Spotify’s growth is increasingly global. The platform is not just about listeners in the United States or Europe. Growth has continued across regions, including Latin America, India, Indonesia, Europe, and other international markets.

Third, Spotify is no longer only a music app. It has expanded into podcasts, audiobooks, video, creator tools, advertising products, and personalized discovery features. That matters because the more reasons people have to open Spotify, the more chances there are for music discovery to happen.

For independent artists, this is both exciting and difficult. More users means more possible listeners. But it also means more competition, more uploads, more playlists, more algorithmic noise, and more artists trying to get attention at the same time.

A Base-Case Forecast: 2026–2035

Based on Spotify’s past growth and the fact that growth usually slows as a platform gets larger, a realistic base-case forecast would show Spotify continuing to grow, but at a gradually slower annual percentage rate.

This is not official Spotify guidance. It is a simple forecast based on recent growth patterns and the idea that Spotify still has room to expand globally, while also facing market saturation and competition.

Year	Predicted Monthly Active Users	Estimated Annual Growth
2026	830M	+10.5%
2027	909M	+9.5%
2028	986M	+8.5%
2029	1.06B	+7.5%
2030	1.13B	+6.5%
2031	1.19B	+5.5%
2032	1.25B	+4.8%
2033	1.30B	+4.2%
2034	1.35B	+3.8%
2035	1.40B	+3.5%

It is predicted that Spotify could reach around 1.3 to 1.4 billion monthly active users by 2035.

That does not mean every artist will automatically get more streams. It means the potential audience will likely continue to grow. The challenge will be reaching the right listeners, not just being available on the platform.

What This Means for Independent Artists

For independent artists, Spotify’s growth is a reminder that music promotion cannot only be about uploading a song and hoping the algorithm finds it. The platform is massive, and the catalog is crowded. Discovery needs help.

That help can come from outside Spotify: websites, blogs, QR codes, short videos, playlist brands, fan participation, email lists, printable content, coffee shop promotions, live shows, social media, and physical items that send people back to the music. There are so many ways independent bands can funnel fans to their Spotify profile, or playlist. Some of the methods I’ve been using is QR codes, PDF downloads, and physical items like coffee mugs, fridge clips, and SoundLink / Meta Ads.

The goal is to create signals around the music. When real people search for a song, save it, playlist it, replay it, share it, or follow the artist, those actions can help build momentum.

This is why independent music promotion should think beyond “get on a playlist.” Playlists matter, but the bigger opportunity is building a discovery path. A listener might first see a QR code on a coffee mug, a coloring page, a blog post, a social media clip, or a fan-shared link. Then they scan, listen, save, and possibly return.

Spotify’s growth means the world is still moving deeper into streaming. But the artists who benefit most will likely be the ones who do more than simply release music. They will create reasons for listeners to care, remember, share, and come back.

Spotify’s rise from 123 million monthly active users in 2016 to 751 million in 2025 shows how much music discovery has changed in a short period of time. If the platform continues growing toward 1.3 to 1.4 billion users by 2035, independent artists will have access to a larger global audience than ever before.

But access is not the same thing as attention.

The future opportunity for independent artists is not just being on Spotify. It is building creative bridges that lead listeners there.

Linked source list for the numbered markers

[1] Spotify’s SEC Form F-1 defines MAUs and reports 123M MAUs for 2016 and 159M for 2017. (SEC)
[2] Spotify’s Q1 2019 shareholder letter lists Q4 2018 MAUs at 207M. (CloudFront)
[3] Spotify’s Q4 2019 results reported 271M MAUs. (Business Wire)
[4] Spotify’s Q4 2020 results reported 345M MAUs. (Business Wire)
[5] Spotify’s Q4 2021 shareholder letter reported 406M MAUs.
[6] Spotify’s Q4 2022 update reported 489M MAUs.
[7] Spotify’s Q4 2023 earnings reported 602M MAUs. (Spotify)
[8] Spotify’s Q4 2024 earnings reported 675M MAUs. (Spotify)
[9] Spotify’s Q4 2025 earnings reported 751M MAUs. (Spotify)