EK PREDICTS: 1B SPOTIFY USERS BY 2030

Daniel Ek predicts that in the next eight years, Spotify will more than double its number of users to 1b and generate revenue of $100b.

Speaking at an Investors Day presentation, he said, “From everything I see, I believe that over the next decade, we will be a company that generates $100b in revenue annually and achieves a 40% gross margin and a 20% operating margin.”

Spotify currently has 422m users worldwide.

“We are running faster and are more focused than anyone else in audio," Ek said. “And audio and long-form content is a much bigger business than what many would have thought. As a consequence, we are building a model that no other platform has dared to attempt. And this strategy to ensure our success isn’t just based on one thing but literally hundreds if not thousands of things.”

Ek used the platform to tout the growth of Spotify since it went public in 2018. It has more than 2,000 partners vs. 250 four years ago; it’s in 183 markets and territories vs. 63; and there are more than 4m podcasts on the service. He contends that the Spot's recent purchase of audiobook distributor Findaway “will be a massive opportunity.”

“We will keep evolving and adding more verticals over time and expanding our business models to allow for more types of content and let artists and creators monetize them,” Ek continued. "This is the new definition of Spotify. This is the Spotify machine.”

Investors could be seen pinning kroners on Ek’s T-shirt following the presentation.