Spotify Easily Bests Its Competitors in Listening Time, But Is Overall Engagement Growing? It’s Complicated
As someone who has followed the digital music industry for years, I’ve seen Spotify rise to become the leader not just in users, but also in how much time people actually spend listening. Recent numbers confirm what many of us suspected: Spotify dominates when it comes to listening time. But when you dig deeper into overall engagement — things get a little complicated.
Spotify’s Dominance in Listening Time
According to data shared by Black Promoters Collective (April 2025), Spotify Premium users averaged 4.9 hours of music listening per week. In contrast, Apple Music users spent about 2.3 hours, Amazon Music Unlimited users clocked 2.0 hours, and Amazon Prime Music trailed with just 1.3 hours weekly.
It’s no wonder, then, that Spotify maintains the largest share of the music streaming market at 31.7% globally, according to Exploding Topics. Spotify reported 675 million monthly active users, including 263 million Premium subscribers as of late 2024, based on Business of Apps and Backlinko reports.
Beyond Music: Podcasts, Video, and More
But Spotify today isn’t just a music app. It’s trying to become a broader audio-visual platform.
In 2024, Spotify’s U.S. podcast market share held steady at 27–28%, based on numbers from ElectroIQ. Its big push into video podcasts also helped Spotify offer ad-free video podcasting for Premium users, as highlighted by MarketWatch’s 2025 report.
However, not everything was smooth. I noticed personally — and it was echoed across social media — that Spotify Wrapped 2024 faced criticism for being too repetitive. TechRadar even compared it unfavorably to Apple Music Replay, which improved dramatically.
Despite criticism, user engagement grew by 10% year-over-year across Spotify’s 184 markets, according to Economic Times.
Financial Success Tells Another Story
Financially, 2024 was a breakthrough year for Spotify.
Spotify achieved its first full year of profitability. Operating income hit €1.4 billion, revenue jumped 16% to €4.2 billion, and Premium subscriber numbers rose 11% according to Financial Times.
This profitability wasn’t just from user growth — Spotify also tightened costs after years of expansion. Layoffs, streamlined operations, and higher subscription prices contributed directly to stronger financials.
In my view, the shift from growth-at-all-costs to a more disciplined business model shows Spotify’s maturity as a public company.
Competition Is Catching Up
While Spotify is winning on listening time, the competition isn’t standing still.
Apple Music made big strides with Replay 2024, which now updates weekly and allows year-round playlist tracking, according to The Block Charlotte.
Apple also appeals to audiophiles through lossless and spatial audio — features Spotify has promised for years but failed to deliver, as noted by FreeYourMusic.
If Spotify doesn’t evolve its offering — especially on audio quality and innovation — it risks losing some of its tech-savvy and premium users.
Final Thoughts
Looking at the numbers, Spotify is undoubtedly the king of listening time. That’s not in dispute. But when we talk about overall engagement — including podcasts, audiobooks, and social features — it’s clear that Spotify’s dominance is more fragile.
Listening time is up, but user satisfaction and cross-content engagement (like video podcasts or new features) are still inconsistent.
As a journalist and a user, I’m cautiously optimistic. If Spotify can continue innovating — not just expanding — it can stay at the top. Otherwise, competition from Apple, Amazon, and even YouTube Music could chip away at its lead faster than many expect.
