Spotify’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) is planned for April 3 with high expectations. The company’s market cap is estimated at around $20 billion, yet the company’s net profit is in the red, recording three years of consecutive annual losses despite the 4x rise in sales. Financials aside, AppOptix's mobile consumer released a Research Note which investigates Spotify's use on the mobile platform, the primary delivery vehicle for their services, and compares Spotify against competitive threats on Android-based mobile devices.  Here are some quick takes from the research:

• Spotify’s mobile Android app has seen a growth rate of 17.4% from the prior year in minutes of use.   
• Spotify’s competition in the Android-based space is strong, with the key leaders represented by Amazon Music, Google Play Music and Pandora.
• Focusing on Android, Spotify ranks second, behind Google Play Music with the second most installed music apps installed across smartphones.  However, despite this edge, Spotify leads across the board in customer engagement.
• Spotify is by far the most commonly used music app in the industry (excluding Apple Music), which signals positive strength heading into the company’s anticipated IPO.