Spotify Premium Users Are Growing Strong – Ad-Free Music Is On The Rise

Did you know that in less than a year, Spotify Premium subscribers have skyrocketed? This is not just a change in listening habits, but also a testament to the growing preference for an ad-free experience.

1. Importance and position of Spotify Premium

Spotify Premium is the paid version of Spotify, a world-leading music streaming platform, providing unlimited and ad-free music listening experience. If you are using the Free version, it means you have to get used to the ads in between songs. That means, every 15-20 minutes there will be an ad. Imagine listening to a playlist of your favorite songs, suddenly an ad appears that takes up 30 seconds, would you feel satisfied with the Free package? That is also the biggest reason why Spotify launched the Premium version.

The world's online music listening application Spotify officially knocked on Vietnam's door on March 13, 2018, creating a fever for the online music listening community. Spotify's business model is Freemium - letting users try the product, launching a free product that is good enough with basic features, and giving them the option to upgrade to a Premium package with more utilities. Needless to say, although Spotify still has to compete with other major platforms such as Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, it is currently maintaining its position as the leading application in the field of music streaming thanks to its content diversity, personalization, and convenient features.

2. The phenomenal growth of Spotify Premium

2.1. Spotify Premium User Metrics

According to the latest report, the number of Spotify Premium users has increased sharply, reaching hundreds of millions of subscribers worldwide. The growth rate of the Premium package has been steady and stable every quarter, showing that the demand for premium services is increasing.
In early February, Spotify announced that it had surpassed 600 million monthly users, including 236 million paid subscribers. 
In its earnings report released on July 23, 2024, Spotify added 7 million paid users in the second quarter of 2024, bringing the total number of users to 246 million - exceeding the forecast by 1 million.

2.2. Reasons for strong growth

Top features: No ads, offline listening, and high-quality audio are the top attractions that make users upgrade to Premium.
Various promotions: Spotify regularly launches free trials and offers for students and families, helping to attract users to sign up for the Premium experience.

Spotify is investing heavily to accelerate its growth, expanding into new markets and most recently branching out into exclusive content like podcasts. This feature has not only kept users engaged but also attracted a huge number of new ones.
On March 13, Spotify announced a limited-edition catalog that offers users popular tracks from global artists like Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat and Ice Spice as well as local favorites.

2.3. Comparison with Spotify Free

Both the Free and Premium versions of Spotify allow you to access a music library of up to 40 million songs, including more than 35 million copyrighted songs. However, the difference between these two packages is that the Free version will not be updated with new songs but will have to wait up to 2 weeks, a fairly long time for hits. On the contrary, with the paid Premium package, you can immediately enjoy the song as soon as it is released on the market. Using the Free
package, when choosing to listen to an Album, you can only listen in the random order that Spotify has arranged, you will not have the right to choose the good song you want to listen to first. In fact, the maximum number of "skip songs" for the Free package is 5 times/hour. With the free 
version of Spotify, you not only have to listen to Spotify's random arrangements and controls, but you can also only listen online. Put in a situation where you are standing in the middle of a place where you cannot connect to the internet, it means "No music with Spotify." With the Premium version, you can save any song you like to your memory to listen offline anytime, anywhere without worrying about whether there is wifi or not?

​The audio quality of the Spotify Free package is only 160kbps, while the Premium package is 320kbps, a pretty big difference in quality.

3. Spotify Premium user base 

Youth (18-35 years old):

This is the core audience, who use Spotify to listen to music every day, stay up to date on new releases, and follow popular music trends.
They enjoy personalized playlists, new music, and genres like pop, hip-hop, EDM, and indie.
Students and pupils:

Thanks to its cheap student plans, Spotify is popular among students,
who listen to music while studying, playing games, or relaxing, often choosing playlists like "Lofi for Studying" or "Chill Hits."
Podcast lovers:

For those who regularly listen to podcasts, Spotify is the ideal platform thanks to its diverse content ranging from social, economic, health topics to entertainment, humor and psychology.
Podcast listeners can be of all ages, from young people to adults.

High quality music lovers:

This group of people are usually music lovers who want to experience better sound quality, without being interrupted by advertisements.
They are willing to pay a premium to listen to music in high quality and enjoy music to the fullest.
Working people and professionals:

Spotify becomes a companion during work hours or daily commutes, helping them relax or increase productivity through playlists like "Focus," "Deep Work," or "Motivation Mix."
Families and couples:

Spotify Family and Duo plans appeal to families or couples thanks to the ability to share accounts at a discounted price.
They can listen to music together or each listen to separate content without affecting each other.
Spotify's user base is diverse, including many different groups of people. Spotify has successfully met the needs of each group through convenient features, rich content, and flexible service plans. With an effective growth strategy and strong personalization, Spotify continues to attract new users and maintain its position as one of the leading music platforms globally.

4. Conclusion 

The trend of listening to music without ads is becoming more and more popular, and Spotify Premium plays an important role in leading this trend. With a smooth listening experience, high sound quality, and convenient features, Spotify Premium has become the preferred choice of many users, meeting the needs of complete and personalized music listening in the digital age.

While everyone has upgraded their music listening experience with Spotify Premium, you shouldn't miss out either! SaDesign will help you enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality music, and discover interesting things that only Spotify Premium can bring.