Spotify confirms 2024 was its first full year of profitability – amid ongoing industry debate surrounding artist payoutsSpotify has recorded its first full year of profitability in its Q4 earnings report from 2024.
The streaming platform ended the year “stronger than ever” by outperforming across key metrics, according to the report. Its first full year of profitability was first predicted in its Q3 data, which was released back in November last year.

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Despite growing criticism of Spotify and its artist payouts – along with the streaming model as a whole – the platform says its monthly active users grew by 12 percent year-on-year to 675 million in 2024, and its subscribers increased by 11 percent year-on-year to 263 million.
Across the board, total revenue for Spotify was up 16 percent year-on-year to €4.2 billion last year, and its operating income rose to €477 million. 2024 marked Spotify’s 10th annual Wrapped, for which it also saw record-high user engagement up 10 percent year-on-year across 184 markets and 53 languages. Listeners have also now created more than eight billion playlists via the platform.
“I am very excited about 2025 and feel really good about where we are as both a product and as a business,” comments Daniel Ek, Spotify Founder & CEO. “We will continue to place bets that will drive long term impact, increasing our speed while maintaining the levels of efficiency we achieved last year. It’s this combination that will enable us to build the best and most valuable user experience, grow sustainably and deliver creativity to the world.”
The Q4 finding follow on from a new report published at the end of January by Spotify’s VP and Head of Music, David Kaefer, in which he said that Spotify paid out $10 billion to the music industry in 2024, and has paid out nearly $60 billion since its inception.
Kaefer also noted that ten years ago in 2014, around 10,000 artists generated at least $10,000 on Spotify, while as of 2024, “well over” 10,000 artists generated over $100,000 per year on the platform. He said, “The system we built together is working, and where we are now is only the beginning”.
But while these figures look promising, and indeed reflect the fact that, more artists are able to earn more money on Spotify, many commenters note that the platform’s low royalty payouts make earning a living as a smaller artist very difficult.
Icelandic artist Björk recently called Spotify “the worst thing that has happened to musicians”, saying low payouts are increasing the demand for artists to embark on gruelling tours to make ends meet. “Streaming culture has changed an entire society and an entire generation of artists,” she said.
Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante also recently chimed in, saying “Spotify is where music goes to die”, and adding: “You’d probably make more money selling lemonade on the corner.”
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek also drew the ire of the music creator community last year when he compared low royalty payouts to professional sports, saying: “Football is played by millions of people – but there’s a very small number that can live off playing full time”.
You can find out more and view Spotify’s Q4 earnings report via its For The Record newsroom.
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