Tag: 2026

Spotify Reports Second Quarter 2026 Earnings

Q2 2026 Earnings Appearing on a gradient background

Today, we announced our Second Quarter 2026 earnings, and with them a milestone no audio streaming service has ever reached: 300 million Premium Subscribers. In Q2, our revenue growth accelerated, gross margin hit an all-time record, and we continued to ship features that deepen how fans discover, create, and connect on Spotify, while supporting artists, creators, authors, and partners.

Alex Norström, Co-CEO, said: “We have a scale that few companies in history have reached, a business that is healthy and compounding, and opportunities only we are positioned to pursue. Spotify lives across your whole day — the commute, the workout, studying, gaming, the dinner table, and sleep. At our scale, that is rare…Our position gives us an opportunity space as wide as our users want it to be.”

Gustav Söderström, Co-CEO, said: “Investor Day described where we believe Spotify is going in the future. This quarter demonstrated that we are already building that future: better engineering, faster shipping, new products and new ways for users to engage. We are still in the very early stages of what is possible and will continue to have a high bar for investments…Our job remains the same: understand the technology early and deeply, and turn it into something people love. Creating value for our stakeholders.”

Q2 2026 Earnings Results:

    • Premium Subscribers grew 9% Y/Y to 300 million
    • Monthly Active Users (MAUs) climbed 12% Y/Y to 777 million
    • Total Revenue increased 14% Y/Y (15% Y/Y constant currency*) to €4.8 billion
    • Gross Margin improved by ~193 bps Y/Y to 33.4%
    • Operating Income reached €655 million

More Personalized Ways to Discover, Create and Listen

    • Leveling Up Your Podcast Experience with Personal Podcasts
      Personal Podcasts lets listeners generate and schedule short audio episodes tailored to their interests and listening habits, which other users cannot access. The experience is now rolling out in beta to eligible Premium users in the U.S.
    • Create, Control, and Personalize Your Listening with Studio by Spotify Labs
      Studio by Spotify Labs is a standalone desktop app that understands your Spotify taste across music, podcasts, and audiobooks, while also drawing on world knowledge to help you find the audio you want. It is now beginning a gradual rollout as a research preview.
    • DJ Is Expanding With Four New Languages and More Markets
      We’re bringing DJ to new markets and introducing four new languages: French, German, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese, growing its presence to more than 75 markets worldwide.
    • Talk to Spotify: A More Personal Way to Ask, Discover, and Listen
      Eligible Premium users can now talk to Spotify across Home and Now Playing view on mobile. By typing or speaking directly in the app, you can have a back-and-forth conversation to choose what’s playing, learn about the music you love, revisit your listening history, and go deeper on podcasts and audiobooks, all without leaving Spotify.
    • Running Mode Brings Personalization to Your Workout
      We’re introducing Running Mode, a new personalized running experience that transforms playlists into running sessions tailored to your goals, music taste, and tempo. Whether you’re training for a race, heading out for an easy jog, or just want a more motivating walk, Running Mode helps you spend less time hunting for the right music and more time moving.

New Audio Experiences for Readers

    • Bringing Long-Form Magazine Articles to Audio
      Over 650 long-form magazine articles are available in English language to users where audiobooks are available. The curated collection produced by our team gives listeners in supported markets another way to go deeper on the artists, stories, and topics they care about. Articles are included within Premium users’ monthly audiobooks allowance.
    • Audiobooks+ Expands With New Add-On Tiers
      Building on an offering that’s already reached one and a half million subscribers, we’re expanding Audiobooks+ with new add-on tiers for our most engaged users, launching soon. Later this year, we’re bringing Audiobooks+ to Family and Student plans so the entire household can share stories together.

Connecting Fans, Creators and Artists, On and Offline

    • Reserved by Spotify
      We hold two concert tickets for an artist’s most dedicated fans to purchase before the general sale opens. Since launching in the U.S. in June with Live Nation, Reserved has supported multiple tours, with nearly 100,000 tickets reserved through Spotify. You show up for the artist on Spotify; we show up for you with tickets. Live in the U.S. and available to eligible Spotify Premium subscribers.
    • Olivia Rodrigo Brings Billions Club Live to Barcelona
      We brought 1,500 of Olivia Rodrigo’s top fans together in Barcelona for her first live concert featuring songs from her new album. The full concert film is now streaming exclusively on Spotify.
    • Spotify 20: Your Party of the Year(s)
      To celebrate 20 years of Spotify, we surprised fans with a mobile-only in-app experience, giving them a playful, nostalgia-driven look back at their music listening history. It revealed the moments that have defined their time with us through never-before-shared data. Almost 100 million people engaged in the first six days, helping drive our single biggest day of new subscribers ever.

Read our full earnings results here and listen to the webcast Q&A on our Investor Relations site here.

*Constant currency adjusted measures are non-IFRS measures. See reconciliation of IFRS to non-IFRS results below for additional information.

How the World’s Biggest Soccer Tournament Soundtracked the Summer

A soccer ball appearing above.a stylized, colorful globe

As the world’s biggest soccer tournament unfolded across North America this summer, fans turned to Spotify to soundtrack every match. A record-breaking official anthem, fan-adopted favorites, and a surge in playlist creation made the 2026 tournament the most musical—and most streamed—yet. Here’s what you need to know about the music behind the game.

Spain won, but Shakira stayed undefeated

Is it really a soccer summer without Shakira? Among the tournament’s official songs, “Dai Dai” by Shakira and Burna Boy led the way, generating more than 138 million streams on Spotify—the most ever for an official song. That’s more than six times the streams of the most-played official track in 2022, which of course is also Shakira’s: “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” at 22 million. The event also introduced millions of listeners to tournament music, with nearly 50 million fans streaming an official song or anthem on Spotify for the first time.

Everyone sang their team’s song

Fans also rallied around their own team’s anthems—both official and unofficial—with underdogs and perennial contenders alike driving major streaming surges:

    • Paraguay:Soy Albirrojo” by Los Albirrojos saw the tournament’s biggest lift among team anthems, up 1,170% globally.
    • Norway:Alt For Norge” by Drillos and Jørn Lande rose 1,005% globally as the team’s run captured fans’ attention.
    • Mexico: Fans boosted “Cielito Lindo” by 540% globally.
    • England: Oasis’ “Wonderwall,” which fans sang to the team after wins, saw U.K. streams rise 306% above average on July 6 before reaching No. 2 on Spotify’s Global Chart on July 12. That same day, U.K. streams of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”—a tribute to England superstar Jude Bellingham—were up 282% versus average.
    • United States: On July 1, when a confident U.S. team dispatched Bosnia and Herzegovina to advance to the quarterfinals, their newly-adoped jam—John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”—saw stateside streams jump 100% above average on July 1.

Playlists scored

Beyond individual songs, fans created a record-breaking 219,000 tournament-themed playlists during the event, nearly triple the total from 2022. More than 181,000 listeners created a soccer-themed playlist for the first time. Together those playlists generated more than 172 million streams worldwide, compared with 46 million in 2022.

The final matched up legends—and musical superstars 

As Spain and Argentina advanced to the final, fans rallied behind both teams with music. Listeners embraced Spanish hits like ROSALÍA’s “DESPECHÁ” and Aitana’s “SUPERESTRELLA,” while streams of Argentina’s signature team track, La T y La M’s “Pa’ la Selección,” jumped more than 270% globally and 386% among listeners in Argentina.

Hit play on Spotify’s Football Anthems playlist for more tournament tracks and fan favorites.

Unless otherwise noted, data reflects activity through July 14, 2026.

Spotify’s Music Team Reveals Its Songwriters to Watch 2026

2026 Songwriters to watch on a neon background

Spotify’s global editors and Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships team spend their days immersed in new music, tracking the writers behind the songs breaking through and the creators shaping what’s next. Today, we’re spotlighting the Songwriters to Watch 2026 class, a group of standout songwriters and writer-producers poised to define the sound of the year ahead.

To give listeners a taste of what’s next, Spotify has selected two essential cuts from each songwriter (or team), all gathered in the Songwriters to Watch 2026 playlist.

“Songwriters are the architects of the songs we fall in love with, and too often their stories stay behind the scenes,” said Jacqueline Ankner, Head of Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships at Spotify. “With Songwriters to Watch 2026, we are spotlighting the creators shaping culture across genres, from Nashville hitmakers to global pop builders and producer-writers pushing sound forward. Our goal is to help these writers reach new audiences, deepen industry recognition, and celebrate the craft at the heart of every great song.” 

Read on for Spotify’s Songwriters to Watch 2026, grouped by genre.

Country

Travis Wood

Essential track: “I Ain’t Sayin’” by Jordan Davis

Joe Fox

Essential track: “Skoal, Chevy, and Browning” by Morgan Wallen

Sam Westhoff

Essential track: “Blink Twice” by Shaboozey and Myles Smith

Hip-hop

A.Chic

Essential track: “ZEN” by JENNIE

WATERBOUTUS

Essential track: “Maske weg” by Souly

Pop

Luis Navidad

Essential track: “Hairdresser” by Skye Newman

MANUKA (Will Brown and Conor Dickinson)

Essential track: “One Thing” by Lola Young

Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser

Essential track: “Fame Is A Gun” by Addison Rae

“It’s really special to be included alongside writers we’re genuine fans of,” said Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser. Thankful to be part of this and to share this moment with so many talented writers.” 

Punjabi

IKKY

Essential track: “Symmetry” by Ed Sheeran featuring Karan Aujla

“EVERYTHING begins with the songwriting and recognizing songwriters is about respecting the craft and people behind the music we love,” said Ikky. “I am so grateful to Spotify for taking the time to acknowledge us because when writers are supported, great music gets heard.”

R&B

GIIFT

Essential track: “Ballin’” by Kehlani

Ariel Imani

Essential track: “Safety” by BJRNCK

Dance

Caitlin Stubbs

Essential track: “Saving Up” by Dom Dolla

Afropop and Afrofusion

Tempoe

Essential track: “With You” by Davido featuring Omah Lay

Saszy

Essential track: “YBIL (You Believe in Love)” by Qing Madi featuring Kizz Daniel

Latin

Laura Prias

Essential track: “Wapa” by Jerry Di

Stream the Songwriters to Watch 2026 playlist to hear all of Spotify’s picks in one place.

Spotify’s Artists to Watch 2026 Are Ready for the Spotlight

2026 Artists to watch on a neon background

At Spotify, we listen to a lot of music. And every year, our global editors and artist partnerships teams come together to spotlight the emerging voices we believe are about to make a serious impact. Enter our Artists to Watch list.

These are the artists turning heads on our playlists, gaining momentum around the world, and pushing their genres into new territory. Whether they’re rewriting the rules of pop, bringing raw energy to hip-hop, or blending global sounds into something entirely new, they’re all redefining what’s next in music.

To celebrate this year’s stars, our team has handpicked one standout track from each artist and then compiled them into the Artists to Watch 2026 playlist, a genre-spanning, culture-driven collection of what’s around the corner.

Ready to find your next favorite artist? Dive into the list below, organized by genre, and start exploring the sounds of 2026.

Afrobeats

MOLIY

Essential track: “Shake It To the Max (FLY) (Remix)

Christian

Jamie MacDonald

Essential track: “Desperate

Country

Vincent Mason

Essential track: “Damned If I Do

Zach John King

Essential track: “Happy For You

Laci Kaye Booth

Essential track: “Luck Of The Draw

Max McNown

Essential track: “Better Me For You (Brown Eyes)

Dance

KETTAMA

Essential track: “Man With a Second Face

Prospa

Essential track: “Love Songs (feat. Kosmo Kint)

Jackie Hollander

Essential track: “You Go I Go

Hip-hop

Hurricane Wisdom

Essential track: “Drugs Callin

PLUTO

Essential track: “WHIM WHAMIEE

sosocamo

Essential track: “soulless

Ovrkast.

Essential track: “Small Talk

Indie/folk

Hudson Freeman

Essential track: “If You Know Me

Dove Ellis

Essential track: “Pale Song

Folk Bitch Trio

Essential track: “The Actor

Fcukers

Essential track: “Bon Bon

After

Essential track: “300 dreams” 

fakemink

Essential track: “MAKKA

Latin

Young Cister

Essential track: “QLOO*

María Isabel

Essential track: “Bien Bien

rusowsky

Essential track: “malibU

Hermanos Espinoza

Essential track: “DIOS POR DELANTE

Pop

Haute & Freddy

Essential track: “Freaks

Baby Nova

Essential track: “Too Pretty For Buffalo

Noah Rinker

Essential track: “The Pines

ADÉLA

Essential track: “Superscar

Mikayla Geier

Essential track: “piano in the sky

R&B

Isaia Huron

Essential track: “I CHOSE YOU

Jai’Len Josey

Essential track: “Won’t Force You

Mack Keane

Essential track: “Candycrush

JayDon

Essential track: “Lullaby

Rock/alternative

Ecca Vandal

Essential track: “CRUISING TO SELF SOOTHE

Speed

Essential track: “PEACE

Die Spitz

Essential track: “Throw Yourself to the Sword

Check out the full playlist on Spotify and get to know the voices shaping the soundtrack of the year.