Spotify has announced it has passed the 1 million subscriber mark, making it the biggest paid music service in the world. The company also noted that its members are sharing some 200 million playlists and that it reached 1 million users almost two years ago.
"From everyone at Spotify, we'd like to give you all massive thanks," a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement. "We'll continue to focus on providing you with the best music service possible, and look forward to adding even more cool new features over the coming months. What's really exciting is that this is only the beginning. Thanks for listening!"
Last month, Spotify reportedly struck a deal with EMI Music and two months ago, the company signed deal with Sony Music Entertainment. The European music service is working hard to make its way to the US: it now has two of the four major music labels; the other two are Universal Music Group, the world's biggest label, and Warner Music Group.
US labels have hesitated to support Spotify's model as they don't believe it can be profitable. Spotify saw a huge financial loss in 2009. The music-streaming company enjoyed revenues of £11.32 million, but endured distribution costs of £608,711, cost of sales equal to £18.82 million, and administrative expenses of £8.29 million. The result was an operating loss of £16.40 million, and a net loss of £16.66 million after taxation.
Hopefully the company's growing subscriber base resulted in a much better 2010. It would be a real shame if it went bankrupt before arriving in the US.