Spotify reaches 306 million subscribers and opens new revenue routes for podcast creators
In the third-quarter results, users rose to 788 million; membership and partner programmes are spreading to new countries.
WyvOne Editör ·
Spotify has announced its results for the third quarter of 2026. According to Hypebot's report of 22 October, monthly active users rose 11 percent in a year to 788 million, and paying subscribers rose 9 percent to 306 million. The ad-supported tier has 499 million users.
Revenue rose 16 percent to about 4.97 billion euros. Of this, about 4.49 billion euros came from subscriptions and 482 million euros from advertising. Gross margin hit a third-quarter record of 33 percent.
What changes for creators?
Two developments stand out with the results. Spotify opened Creator Memberships, a feature that lets eligible podcast creators offer paid memberships to their listeners, in 34 markets. The Spotify Partner Program, which shares revenue based on engagement, has spread to more than 35 new markets; the report cites Brazil, Mexico, Italy and Spain as examples. Because the source we read does not give the full list of markets, we cannot say whether Türkiye is covered.
Not yet for musicians
These two programmes are for now on the podcast side. Hypebot writes that analysts expect the membership feature could expand to music in 2027; this is not a company statement, it is an expectation. The company also plans to bring audiobooks from 22 markets to more than 180 markets by the end of the year.
Sources
Representative cover image: Marcin Sajur, Unsplash.
