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With 433m monthly active users, 188m of whom are premium subscribers, Spotify is in a strong position despite economic uncertainty.
Spotify has reported strong growth in subscribers and revenue in its latest quarterly earnings report.
The audio streaming service now has 433m monthly active users, up 19pc since last year’s second quarter.
The number of premium subscribers, which account for most of the company’s revenue, has also risen by 14pc to 188m. This was 1m ahead of guidance, driven by growth in Europe and Latin America, according to Spotify.
The company’s revenue grew by 23pc year on year to €2.9bn. Ad-supported revenue reached €360m, up by nearly a third since last year and marking an all-time high share of total revenue at 13pc.
Despite the strong revenue performance, Spotify recorded an operating loss of €194m.
However, the company is known to prioritise subscriber growth over quarterly profits, and the latest quarterly loss was €3m lower than the expected €197m.
“While we continue to monitor the uncertain macroenvironment, we are very pleased with the resilience of the business, particularly our strength in monthly active users and subscribers,” the company wrote in its earnings report.
Spotify’s latest results may be a breath of fresh air for the company after it predicted a slowdown in subscriber growth earlier this year. Still reeling from the Joe Rogan podcast controversy, Spotify’s subscriber forecast in February sent its stock price down by as much as 18pc.
While it has been a good quarter for Spotify in terms of subscribers, the platform has faced a few hurdles when it comes to the podcast business that it is working to develop.
Reply All, one of its most popular podcasts, is no longer running after co-hosts Alex Goldman and Emmanuel Dzotsi left production company Gimlet. Meanwhile, the Obamas have also bid adieu to the platform, not renewing their 2019 exclusive deal with Spotify and taking their podcast to rival platform Audible.
However, a spate of recent acquisitions could help boost business. Earlier this month, Spotify acquired music trivia game Heardle to use it as a tool for music discovery.
Last month, it also snapped up Sonantic, the AI start-up that brought Val Kilmer’s voice to life in the latest Top Gun film. Spotify said Sonantic will help create “high-quality experiences” for its users.
It acquired two companies earlier this year to help further develop its podcast offering and acquired audiobook platform Findaway late last year to break into that market.
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