Spotify

Spotify is a streaming service for music, podcasts and audiobooks. Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon founded it in Stockholm in 2006. The service launched to the public in 2008 and later reached the United States.

Users can listen free with ads or pay for a Premium subscription. The catalog holds a very large library of songs licensed from record labels and publishers. Playlists and recommendation features such as Discover Weekly and Wrapped are central to how people use it.

Spotify also invested heavily in podcasts, buying Gimlet Media and The Ringer, and it hosts shows from independent creators. Artists receive payments based on streams, a model that has drawn debate in the music industry. The company is incorporated in Luxembourg and lists its shares in New York. The company competes with Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music. It has added video podcasts and live audio features. Spotify also sells Premium plans for families and students, and its Wrapped summary of yearly listening has become a popular annual event.