With a 4% gain from the previous quarter, Spotify currently has 236 million Premium members, and its total number of monthly active users increased by 5% to 602 million. Its fourth-quarter earnings report, covering the three months ending on December 31st, included the statement. Spotify broke records in 2023 as both its user base and number of premium customers increased by 113 and 31 million, respectively.
The outcomes wrap up a year that saw price hikes and expense reductions for the biggest audio streaming service globally. In December of last year, the company declared that it would be implementing its third significant round of layoffs in 2023, affecting approximately 1,500 employees, or 17 percent of the total. Earlier in the year, Spotify raised its rates in the US and other international markets. Notably, the monthly price of a Premium subscription increased to $10.99 from $9.99 for more than ten years.
Spotify reported a loss of €70 million (about $75 million) for the quarter, down from a profit of €65 million ($70 million) in Q3. This was in spite of the company’s efforts to become more efficient. However, this was better than the €270 million deficit (about $290 million) it reported in the same period the year before. For the entire year 2023, its net loss was €532 million, or roughly $570 million. The average revenue per user increased, however, and is currently at €4.60 as opposed to €4.55 in the same quarter last year and €4.34 last quarter. Additionally, advertising revenue increased to an all-time high of €501 million (about $538 million) in the quarter, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Spotify has been in the news lately for its ongoing criticism of Apple’s App Store policies. This includes the Core Technology Fee that Spotify intends to charge developers and the 27 percent commission it charges on alternative payments in the US for developers who wish to distribute their programs in App Stores outside of the EU. It’s unclear if this strained relationship had a role in Spotify’s decision to withhold its service—even from its current iPad app—from being compatible with Apple’s new Vision Pro headset at launch.
Apple has modified its strategies in recent months, but its podcasting and audiobook endeavors remain beyond music. Although it has stated that it will now permit Joe Rogan’s podcast to be distributed on other podcasting services, it recently extended its contract with him. Regarding audiobooks, the streaming platform is now providing 15 hours of audiobook content as part of the subscription for Premium users, whereas previously it was only available as an on-demand add-on.
Once more, the publication today makes no indication of when Spotify’s lossless streaming feature would become available. The function, which was formerly known as “HiFi,” was first revealed by the firm in February 2021, nearly three years ago, but an official debut date has not yet been disclosed. It was still listed as coming “at some point” as of last March, and more recent rumors indicate it may now be called “Supremium,” though it’s unclear when it would be made available to the general public.
