According to PYMNTS.com, Spotify just announced during its Q3 2025 earnings that it crossed 700 million monthly active users, hitting 713 million with 11% year-over-year growth. The streaming giant now has 281 million subscribers, up 12%, while revenue jumped 7% to 4.3 billion euros (about $4.9 billion). Founder Daniel Ek, who’s transitioning to chairman on January 1, emphasized they’re “shipping faster than ever” with engagement at all-time highs. The company also revealed that ad-supported users grew to 446 million, and co-president Alex Norström announced they’ve tripled their English-language audiobook catalog to over 500,000 titles. Perhaps most notably, Spotify is now positioning itself not just as a streaming service but as the “operating system for global listening.”
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<h2 id="spotify-os”>The Operating System Play
Here’s the thing about calling yourself an “operating system for audio” – it sounds ambitious because it is. Spotify’s basically admitting that music streaming alone isn’t enough to justify its valuation or future growth. They’re trying to build an ecosystem where music, podcasts, audiobooks, AI recommendations, and creator tools all live together seamlessly. Think of it like Apple’s iOS but for your ears – everything audio-related should flow through Spotify’s platform. The recent ChatGPT integration where you can get song recommendations through the AI chatbot? That’s a classic OS move – making your service available everywhere people are. With over 2,000 device integrations already, they’re essentially embedding themselves into every possible listening scenario.
The Audiobook Gambit
Now, the audiobook push is particularly interesting. Music royalties can eat up to 70% of revenue in some markets, which is brutal for margins. Audiobooks represent a completely different economics game – better margins, less licensing complexity, and a way to increase engagement without the same royalty burden. The fact that over half of eligible premium users have tried audiobooks suggests there’s real appetite. But here’s the question: can Spotify actually compete with Audible’s deep catalog and Amazon’s ecosystem? Tripling their English-language catalog to 500,000 titles is a start, but they’re playing catch-up in a space that requires different content acquisition strategies and user behaviors.
The Payment Philosophy
What caught my attention was Spotify’s approach to payments. They’re running “painted door tests” – basically putting up payment options to see what users actually click on rather than guessing. That’s smart product thinking. Their philosophy of starting with “user choice” and letting payment behavior guide decisions shows they understand that friction at checkout can kill conversion. In emerging markets where credit card penetration is lower, this flexibility could be the difference between gaining users or losing them. It’s the kind of operational detail that doesn’t make headlines but actually drives growth.
The Leadership Transition
Ek moving to chairman while Norström and Söderström become co-CEOs in January feels significant. After 19 years, the founder is stepping back from day-to-day operations right as the company attempts this massive transformation. Co-CEO structures can be messy, but these two have been running major parts of the business for years. The real test will be whether they can maintain Spotify’s product velocity while navigating the complicated economics of music streaming. With user growth still strong even in “mature” markets like North America and Europe, they’ve got a solid foundation to build from. But becoming the true “OS for audio” means executing on multiple fronts simultaneously – something that’s much harder than just adding subscribers.
