Am I understanding correctly that you're looking for a HN poster to explain to you the complexities involved in maintaining compliance, legal and licensing for a globally distributed service, just so you can decide whether or not to be outraged by the size of Spotify's staff count?

> I can accept that... if it's said how exactly.

You are assuming that Spotify is just the consumer facing app, but it's not. It's far more.

You've got all the bits of Spotify you don't see. Like:

* Apps and interfaces for labels to ingest their music

* Reporting and billing so all those labels get paid

* An ad platform to service free-tier users

* Embedded systems. Did you know Spotify has a commercial hardware division to integrate Spotify onto smart speakers and devices?

The surface is huge.