In the fourth quarter of 2025, Spotify achieved major success after seeing the most users added in a quarter ever. This success came just in time for new co-CEOs Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström to take over from co-founder Daniel Ek, giving them a great start to the year.
Spotify’s Success in Numbers
Spotify gained 38 million new users in the fourth quarter, more than it has ever had in a single quarter. That brings the music app up to 751 million monthly active users, which is up 11% from the previous year. The number of paying subscribers also increased by 10% to reach 290 million.
An increase in users also leads to an increase in profit. The Swedish company achieved €4.53 billion ($5.39 billion) in overall revenue, approximately 7% more than last year. However, ad revenue decreased by 4%, resulting in €518 million ($616.6 million). Even so, Spotify’s gross margin hit 33.1%, which is another record for the company.
What Caused This Sudden Increase?
Spotify is crediting two key aspects to its record number of new users: Spotify Wrapped and an expanded free tier.
Spotify Wrapped, which shows users their statistics for the year, has always been a huge hit. People love to learn about themselves, and Wrapped is a fun way to see the music that influenced your year. The 2025 Spotify Wrapped was better than ever, including all the classic statistics along with new features like listening age, top song quiz, and top albums. This gave users more information to share with each other than ever before.
In 2025, Spotify also added new features to its free tier in an attempt to move people away from the competition. These new features, known as “Pick & Play,” “Search & Play,” and “Share & Play,” make it easier for users to find, listen to, and share the songs they want without having to pay for a subscription.
Spotify is expecting its user number to keep growing, with a prediction of 759 million users and 293 million paying subscribers by the end of the current quarter.
How Can This Achievement Help Other Brands?
Looking at Spotify’s success can help brands learn what works when trying to stand out from the competition. Based on this recent record, here are two things for brands to keep in mind:
- Offer personalized statistics when applicable so users can learn more about themselves.
- Keep content accessible to users by offering free features.
These tips won’t apply to every brand, but it’s good to keep them in mind. Even if your brand is nothing like Spotify, you might be able to find unique ways to take advantage of the music app’s tactics.
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