The Spotify app on an iPhone.
Fabian Sommer | images alliance | Getty Images
The streaming audio service Spotify is planning to almost double its geographic presence and launch in 85 more countries, adding 36 languages to its platform in the process.
The Swedish company announced the international expansion on Tuesday at a livestreaming event that featured Justin Bieber, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Spotify said the expansion, in countries largely seen as developing countries in Asia, Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean, will allow another billion people to use its platform.
In the coming days, Spotify will be launched in countries like Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Samoa, Jamaica, Bahamas and Belize.
“These moves represent Spotify’s broadest market expansion to date,” said Spotify. After the expansion, Spotify will be available in more than 170 countries.
Spotify was launched in 2008 just a year after the launch of the first iPhone and has already accumulated 345 million active users per month in 95 countries. Of these, 155 million are premium paying subscribers.
Although Spotify started out as a music streaming platform, it now allows people to listen to podcasts, audio books and meditations.
The Stockholm-based company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to secure an exclusive podcast series, including a new program by Barack and Michelle Obama that will feature Bruce Springsteen.
Competition with technology giants
Spotify faces stiff competition from Apple, Amazon and Google, which have launched their own music streaming services in recent years.
The company’s biggest competitor is arguably Apple Music, and Spotify is involved in a close antitrust dispute with Apple. Spotify doesn’t think it’s fair to pay a commission to Apple, or what it sees as a “tax”, when users subscribe and pay for their service through Apple’s App Store. She filed a complaint with the European Commission in March 2019 and an investigation is ongoing.
Spotify’s stock price fell 4% to $ 350 on Monday and dropped another 0.5% to $ 348 on the floor.