Bob Pittman's Spotify Listening Figures Disputed

iHeartMedia's Bob Pittman

Bob Pittman came out swinging against Spotify in iHeartMedia’s recent Q2 earnings call. Now, according to Digital Music News reports Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has responded.

Pittman noted that quarterly digital revenue for iHeart increased by 32.8% year-over-year.  iHeart now reaches around 275 million Americans each month, which Pittman was quick to point out is more than the company’s two closest broadcast radio competitors.

Later in the call, Pittman fired shots at Spotify when explaining a fundamental difference between streaming and radio platforms.  Pittman said that 75% of iHeartMedia’s listening comes from 34% of its audience.  He contrasted that against Spotify and Pandora, attacking both streaming services.

Pittman cited the following stats for those services:

• 73% of Spotify listening comes from 3% of their audience
• 72% of Pandora listening comes from 5% of their audience

Without delving into specifics, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek quickly offered a retort on Twitter.

Not sure where that data is from, but it's far from true.

— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) August 15, 2019

And now, the folks at Edison Research provide some clarification:

In 2017, 73% of Spotify’s listening came from 3% of the total population of the United States age 13+, NOT 3% of Spotify’s listeners.

— Edison Research (@edisonresearch) August 16, 2019