Spotify subscribers grow to 60 million as rumors about going public heat up

The dominance of Spotify in the streaming music space continues to grow, as the company revealed new subscriber numbers on Monday: 60 million.

That figure is up 10 million from March, the last time Spotify released subscriber numbers.

That massive jump in just a few months couldn't have come at a better time for Spotify, as rumors have been swirling that the company is about go public, possibly by the end of the year.

The growth of Spotify really stands out when you consider the state of its competitors, namely SoundCloud. In recent weeks, the fate of SoundCloud has been up in the air in the wake of office closings, massive layoffs, and a general sense that the company may be on its last legs as it works to monetize its services versus the competition.

Roughly 175 million people listen to SoundCloud each month (according to the company), but that figure doesn't break out how many of those people are registered users, an important point since anyone can listen to SoundCloud tracks for free without registering.

The struggles of SoundCloud are even more fascinating given the fact that it has helped to give us music from the likes of Chance the Rapper (who claims the service isn't going anywhere), and Fetty Wap, and is the go-to site for experimental new tracks from everyone from Skrillex to Kanye West.

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Over at Apple Music, the company puts its number of paid subscribers at 27 million. That's a healthy number for a still relatively new service, but it still pales in comparison to the juggernaut that is Spotify.

Aside from 60 million subscribers, Spotify also boasts 140 million global monthly active users. As more players fight for a piece of the streaming music market, including Tidal, Amazon Music, and Google Play Music, Spotify will likely find it difficult to keep up its stunning growth.

But as long as they can keep it going until that golden moment they go public, 10 million new paying users every few months is about as good as it gets.