Spotify () is a music streaming platform developed by Swedish company Spotify AB, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Launched on 7 October 2008, it is currently (as of 14 November 2018) available in 78 countries and regions throughout the world. It provides DRM-protected content from record labels and media companies. Spotify is a freemium service; basic features are free with advertisements or automatic music videos, while additional features, such as improved streaming quality are offered via paid subscriptions.
Spotify is available in most of Europe, most of the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Africa and Asia. It is available for most modern devices, including Windows, macOS, and Linux computers, iOS, Windows Phone and Android smartphones and tablets, ChromeOS devices, as well as TVs via factory-installed means, Roku Players, Amazon Fire TV devices, the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One home consoles. Music can be browsed through or searched for by parameters such as artist, album, genre, playlist, or record label. Users can create, edit, and share playlists and tracks on social media, and make playlists with other users. Spotify provides access to more than 40 million songs. As of January 2019, it had 200 million monthly active users, including 87 million paying subscribers.Unlike physical or download sales, which pay artists a fixed price per song or album sold, Spotify pays royalties based on the number of artists' streams as a proportion of total songs streamed. It distributes approximately 70% of total revenue to rights holders, who then pay artists based on their individual agreements. Spotify has faced criticism from artists and producers including Taylor Swift and Thom Yorke, who argued that it does not fairly compensate musicians. In April 2017, as part of its efforts to renegotiate license deals for an interest in going public, Spotify announced that artists will be able to make albums temporarily exclusive to the Premium service if they are part of Universal Music Group or Merlin Network.
On 28 February 2018, Spotify filed for a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Spotify's shares began trading on 3 April 2018.