Top Spotify Shareholders (2024)

Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT) offers an audio-streaming subscription service. The company monetizes its service through monthly fees for its premium subscription service and through sales of advertising associated with its free streaming service. In 2023, Spotify offered Premium services to 236 million subscribers, a 15% year-over-year increase. The company also reported a total of over $13.2 billion pounds as well as a net loss of $602 million pounds.

Key Takwaways

  • Headquartered in Sweden and legally domiciled in Luxembourg, Spotify is a foreign company and is thus not required to disclose the same information as U.S. firms concerning the share ownership of corporate insiders.
  • The top institutional shareholders of Spotify are Daniel G. Ek and Martin Lorentzon.
  • For institutional firms, Baillie Gifford & Co., Morgan Stanley (MS), and T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. are the institutions holding the most shares.

Top Individual Insider Shareholders

The following individual shareholders own the most shares of Spotify. Note that the shares noted do not reflect any options or futures contracts giving these individuals the right to future shares. The number of shares used for any proportion is pulled from Spotify's Form 20-F filed with the SEC for the period ending Dec. 31, 2023. The number of total outstanding shares at that date was 197,143,389.

Daniel G. Ek

Daniel Ek owns 30.9 million shares of Spotify, representing 15.6% of total shares outstanding, according to the company's annual report for the period ending Dec. 31, 2023.

Mr. Ek is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Spotify. He founded the company in 2006 with his business partner, Martin Lorentzon. Spotify has since grown into a leading music-streaming service. Mr. Ek oversaw the company's initial public offering (IPO) in 2018. Before Spotify, he founded an online marketing firm called Advertigo, which he sold to Sweden-based Tradedoubler AB in 2006. According to Forbes, Mr. Ek has a net worth of $4.1 billion as of February 2024.

Martin Lorentzon

Martin Lorentzon owns 21 million shares of Spotify, representing 10.9% of total shares outstanding, according to the company's annual report for the period ending Dec. 31, 2023.

Mr. Lorentzon is the other co-founder of Spotify. From 2008 to 2016, Mr. Lorentzon served as the company's chair of the board. In 1999, he founded Tradedoubler, the company to which Mr. Ek sold Advertigo in 2006. Mr. Lorentzon also served on the board of directors of Telia Company AB, Sweden's primary telecom operator, between 2013 and 2018. As of February 2024, Forbes estimates his net worth at $5.4 billion.

Top 3 Institutional Shareholders

Institutional investors hold the majority of Spotify's shares at about 55-57% of total shares outstanding. As of February 2024, institutional ownership was 57.84%.

"Insider" refers to people in senior management positions and members of the board of directors, as well as people or entities that own more than 10% of the company's stock. In this context, it has nothing to do with insider trading.

Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford owns 23.7 million shares of Spotify, representing 12% of total shares outstanding, according to Spotify's annual report for the period ending Dec. 31, 2023. As of February 2024, the most recent Investment Stewardship Activities Report was filed for the year ending Dec. 31, 2022. In that report, Billie Gifford reported AUM of $223.4 billion pounds. The company manages a diverse set of mutual funds. The Baillie Gifford International Growth Fund is one of its largest funds. The fund is almost $3 billion in size, Spotify is among the fund's top 10 holdings, comprising about 5.29% of the fund's total assets.

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley owns 9.2 million shares of Spotify, representing approximately 4.6% of total shares outstanding, according to Nasdaq as of Sept. 30, 2023. Morgan Stanley is a multinational investment bank and financial services company with about $1.4 trillion in AUM. The firm offers a diverse range of mutual funds, and complete holdings for its fund offerings are publicly available quarterly 15 calendar days after the quarter ends by calling or emailing customer service.

T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.

T. Rowe Price Associates owns 7.8 million shares of Spotify, representing approximately 4.0% of total shares outstanding, according to Nasdaq records as of Sept. 30, 2023. T. Rowe Price Associates is a subsidiary of T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW), which is a global investment management firm with about $1.45 trillion in AUM. The firm offers both exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds. Its Mid-Cap Growth Portfolio (QAMWEX) has total net assets of $553 million as of January 2024 with over 1.3% of the portfolio weight held in SPOT.

How Does Spotify Make Money?

Spotify earns revenue via advertising streams and paid subscription services such as Spotify Premium.

Why Have Some Artists Removed their Content from Spotify?

Some musicians and bands have asked Spotify to remove their content to protest the company's policies, such as low artist royalty pay or the company's commitment to right-wing podcasters like Joe Rogan.

Is Spotify Free?

Spotify has a free version available to users, which is supported by ad revenue. The upgraded premium service has a paid monthly subscription, the cost of which varies by country. This paid version has upgraded features such as ad-free music.

The Bottom Line

The top shareholders of Spotify include co-founders Daniel G. Ek and Martin Lorentzon, with Ek owning 15.6% of total shares and Lorentzon owning 10.9%. Institutional investors like Baillie Gifford & Co., Morgan Stanley, and T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. also hold significant shares, with institutional ownership totaling around 55-57% of total shares outstanding.

Top Spotify Shareholders (2024)

FAQs

Who owns the most shares of Spotify? ›

Two people are among the main shareholders of Spotify, owning more than 25% of the company, according to official filings.
  • Daniel Ek – 30,856,376 Shares – 15.6% ...
  • Martin Lorentzon – 21,528,184 Shares – 10.9% ...
  • Baillie Gifford – 23,657,094 Shares – 11.92% ...
  • Tencent Holdings – 16,631,969 Shares – 9.1%
May 2, 2024

What is the shareholding pattern of Spotify? ›

Currently, institutional investors control roughly 62% of Spotify shares. Company insiders control 26% of Spotify shares, with the vast majority of that amount held by just two individuals: the company's founders. Here is a look at the individuals and institutions that represent Spotify's largest shareholders.

How did Daniel Ek start Spotify? ›

Ek incorporated Spotify AB with Martin Lorentzon in Stockholm, Sweden in 2006. Lorentzon had previously worked at and co-founded TradeDoubler, which acquired Ek's previous company Advertigo. In October 2008, the company launched its legal music streaming service Spotify.

Who are the original owners of Spotify? ›

Spotify was founded in 2006 in Stockholm, Sweden, by Daniel Ek, former CTO of Stardoll, and Martin Lorentzon, co-founder of Tradedoubler.

Who gets the most royalties from Spotify? ›

How Much Do Artists Make on Spotify?
  • Taylor Swift – 85+ billion lead streams – over $328 million.
  • Drake – 77+ billion lead streams – over $304 million.
  • Bad Bunny – 72+ billion lead streams – over $288 million.
  • The Weeknd – 58+ billion lead streams – over $230 million.
Jul 22, 2024

Who owns 15% of Spotify? ›

The top shareholders of Spotify include co-founders Daniel G. Ek and Martin Lorentzon, with Ek owning 15.6% of total shares and Lorentzon owning 10.9%. Institutional investors like Baillie Gifford & Co., Morgan Stanley, and T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.

What is the breakdown of Spotify royalties? ›

Spotify pays artists between $0.003 - $0.005 per stream on average. That works out as an approx revenue split of 70/30 - so that's 70% to the artist/rights holders and 30% to Spotify.

How profitable is Spotify? ›

Spotify beat first-quarter earnings and revenue estimates this week, returning the 18-year-old company to profitably. Following mass layoffs in 2023 and increased service prices, the audio giant reported 3.6 billion euros ($3.9 billion) in first-quarter revenue and a gross profit of 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion).

What is the profit split on Spotify? ›

A: Spotify distributes approximately 70% of its total revenue to rights holders, which include record labels, publishers, and distributors. The actual amount received by an individual artist depends on their contract with their rights holders​​.

Does EK still own Spotify? ›

Spotify is a Swedish music streaming platform and is currently owned by its founders, Daniel EK and Martin Lorentzon, along with some institutional investors, including Baillie Gifford & Co. and Morgan Stanley.

How much is Daniel Ek worth? ›

Who is Spotify's competitor? ›

See how Spotify compares to similar products. Spotify's top competitors include Monytize, Smule, and Deezer. Monytize is a social media company that focuses on generating multiple revenue streams within the entertainment sector.

What is the net worth of Spotify? ›

How much a company is worth is typically represented by its market capitalization, or the current stock price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding. Spotify Technology net worth as of August 02, 2024 is $65.86B. Spotify Technology S.A. provides music streaming services.

How much does Spotify pay per stream? ›

So, how much can you earn from Spotify's streams? On average, Spotify pays artists between $0.003 and $0.004 per single stream. Starting in January 2024, Spotify will start paying artists once they reach 1,000 streams in the last 12 months.

What companies does Spotify own? ›

Building the World's #1 Audio Network

Our portfolio of industry-leading original podcast content is created and produced by our wholly-owned subsidiaries, Spotify Studios, Gimlet Studios, Parcast, and The Ringer, along with partnerships with some of the world's most well-known creators.

Who is share ownership of Spotify? ›

Spotify is owned by a variety of different stakeholders. The majority of the company's shares are owned by its founders, Martin Lorentzon, who, as of January 3rd, 2023, owned 10.9% of Spotify's total shares, and Daniel Ek, who owns 7.3% of the company's total shares.

Who has over a billion streams on Spotify? ›

The following list contains the most-streamed artists on the audio streaming platform Spotify. As of August 2024, Canadian rapper Drake is the most-streamed artist of all time, with over 100 billion streams. American singer Taylor Swift is the most-streamed female artist, having received more than 85 billion streams.

What companies are owned by Spotify? ›

Building the World's #1 Audio Network

Our portfolio of industry-leading original podcast content is created and produced by our wholly-owned subsidiaries, Spotify Studios, Gimlet Studios, Parcast, and The Ringer, along with partnerships with some of the world's most well-known creators.

Who are the biggest users of Spotify? ›

Who Listens To Spotify the Most?
CountrySpotify Traffic
United States27.34%
Brazil4.65%
United Kingdom4.58%
Mexico4.49%
1 more row

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