The UK arm of music streaming service Spotify turned a profit for the first time in its history in 2013, it was revealed this week.
The company’s revenues rose 41.8% last year from £92.6 million to £131.4 million – equating to a £2.6 million net profit, compared to a net loss of £11 million in 2012. Their partnership with Vodafone provided a major boost in subscriber numbers last year.
Over 70% of their revenues are distributed to labels and publishers (and from there to artists), and it now represents a major source of revenue for larger record labels.
It’s encouraging news for the future of streaming, and hopefully will lead to artists getting more significant payouts in the future.