Spotify says 52pc of users are streaming music via their phones and tablets

12 Jan 2015

The majority of tracks streamed via subscription-based music service Spotify are now played on users’ phones or tablet devices.

That’s according to statistics presented by the company in a pitch to brand advertisers, as obtained by Techcrunch. The 52pc breaks down as 42pc being streamed to mobiles, with tablets accounting for 10pc.

Spotify’s desktop software, meanwhile, facilitates 45pc of streams, while its web player makes up the remaining 3pc.

Song streaming grew by 54pc in the US, while downloads fell by 12pc. Spotify now boasts 50m monthly actives and 12m people have signed up for their fee-based premium service.

The Swedish company’s statistics come ahead of its impending battle with Apple’s soon to be launched iTunes streaming music service. In addition, online music store Bandcamp is planning to launch a new subscription-based service that allows artists to set their own prices.

Regardless of its growing popularity, the music streaming model continues to prove controversial. In November, Taylor Swift became the latest artist to remove their entire music catalogue from Spotify after decrying the age of streaming and its impact on the value of music. In response, CEO Daniel Ek claimed pointed to the US$2bn that company has paid out in royalties, US$6m of which has gone to Swift.

Mobile music image via Spotify

Dean Van Nguyen was a contributor to Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com