Spotify passes 200 million paying users

STOCKHOLM

Music streaming giant Spotify on Jan. 31 reported a total of 205 million paying subscribers at the end of 2022, beating expectations, but its losses deepened.

The Swedish company, which last week announced it was cutting almost six percent of its workforce to reduce costs, posted a net loss of 430 million euros ($465 million) for the year compared to a loss of 34 million euros in 2021.

Analysts had forecast a loss of 441 million euros, according to Factset.

Around 1230 GMT, shares in Spotify, which is based in Stockholm but listed in New York, were up five percent in pre-market trading.

Revenue for the full year also slightly beat forecasts, coming in at 11.7 billion euros or a rise of 21 percent from a year earlier.

The number of paying subscribers climbed by 14 percent to 205 million, beating analysts’ expectations of 202 million, which the group attributed to strong growth in all regions, especially in Latin America.

It is the first time Spotify has surpassed 200 million paying subscribers.

Spotify founder and chief executive Daniel Ek said the company had “delivered great platform growth.”

“We ended 2022 strongly despite a challenging year,” Ek said in a post to Twitter.

Among other things, the company also said it had benefited from promotional campaigns, a strong holiday season, and robust growth among Gen Z users.

The total number of monthly users, including subscribers using the free version, totaled 489 million at the end of the year and should hit the 500 million mark in 2023, Spotify said.

The platform has only occasionally posted a quarterly profit since its launch.

It has regularly posted annual losses, despite strong subscriber growth and having had a head start on its rivals such as Apple Music and Amazon Music.

Ek last week announced the group was cutting around 600 jobs out of around 10,000, following similar moves by other tech industry giants.

Spotify has also invested more than one billion euros into podcasting in recent years, but analysts say the company has yet to prove the investment is bearing fruit.

Its venture into podcasts has also been a source of controversy, with US star Joe Rogan accused of spreading misinformation in his shows.

Doubts around the platform have also been reflected in Spotify’s share price, which has lost almost two thirds of its value over the past two years.