Spotify is growing – and the cash registers are ringing

More and more people are using Spotify. This is making the Swedish company’s cash registers ring – and it is venturing into new territory.

The music streaming company Spotify gained even more paying customers at the end of the year. In the fourth quarter, the number of so-called premium subscribers was 263 million, eleven percent higher than a year earlier, as the company announced in Stockholm. The number of monthly active users, an important indicator for advertising customers, rose by twelve percent to 675 million. Group CEO Daniel Ek exceeded analysts’ expectations for both key figures and is forecasting even more for the new year.

In addition to its music offering, the streaming service provider now wants to shake up the market for video podcasts. Paying customers can already watch these without advertising in selected countries such as the United States and the UK. Meanwhile, podcasters and YouTubers are paid according to how many people tune in to their shows.

In the fourth quarter, Spotify’s turnover climbed by 16% year-on-year to 4.2 billion euros. This was also slightly more than analysts had expected. At the bottom line, the company earned 367 million euros after a loss of 70 million euros in the same period last year.

dpa