Spotify tops 15 million paid subscribers

Streaming music service Spotify announced it has topped 15 million paid subscribers, adding 5 million over the past seven months.

Spotify says they crossed the 15 million threshold near the end of last year. The service says it also boasts 60 million active users. In May, Spotify revealed it topped 10 million paying subscribers.

Spotify is part of the increasingly competitive streaming music space, dominated by Pandora and featuring other services such as Rdio and Rhapsody.

The next frontier for the market: the car. In November, BMW announced it would support Spotify in its latest models. Also, Spotify unveiled a partnership with ride-sharing service Uber to allow riders to access their playlists from music-supported cars.

Meanwhile, during the International Consumer Electronics Show, Pandora chief Tim Westegren says his company is looking to autos next, pushing to partner with as many auto makers to allow support for the service in vehicles.