Spotify monthly active users

Spotify monthly users multiplying as American vinyl sales also multiply. The streaming service buried physical music a decade ago, except apparently for one heavy black format that came back from the dead. Two formats, opposite eras, on the same upward path.

Spotify MAUs grew from about 89 million in 2015 to over 600 million by 2022 as international expansion and free-tier conversion drove user growth. US vinyl sales grew from about 12 million units in 2015 to over 41 million by 2022, the highest figure since 1987. Both reflect the same paradox of the modern music industry: cheap, infinite streaming for daily listening, plus expensive, deliberately physical objects for the songs that mattered most. The same listener, two registers.

Abundance and artefact, sold by the same audience. The decade liked having both options on the shelf.