Spotify is still bleeding money but predicts a return to profitability
People are flocking to Spotify as shown by the company's recent financial results, but it continues to bleed over a quarter-billion dollars per quarter -- even after its layoffs in January.
Spotify
Spotify has worked on adding more content to its service in the form of podcasts and audiobooks, and redesigned its app in a bid to keep users engaged with the platform. It had strong user growth in the first quarter of 2023 but posted another financial loss.
The streaming company recorded 515 million active monthly users, a 22% increase from the previous year. That represented Spotify's largest-ever first-quarter increase and outperformed projections by 15 million.
According to the company, growth was seen across almost all age groups and in developed and emerging economies.
The number of people who pay to subscribe to Spotify was up 15% to 210 million, also exceeding Spotify's expectations, according to The Wall Street Journal. But it posted a loss of around $248 million in the first quarter of 2023, more significant than its $231 million revenue drop in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Executives have stated that as the company attempts to expand into new types of audio and draw customers worldwide, investment will take precedence over profit. However, they expect Spotify's profits to improve in 2023.
Approximately 600 people, or about 6% of Spotify's personnel, were let go in January as part of a more extensive cost-cutting effort following a spending binge during the pandemic. The business reported on Tuesday that the layoffs' accompanying severance costs increased operating expenditures for the quarter.
For the current quarter, Spotify forecasts monthly active users to grow to 530 million and premium subscribers to 217 million. Additionally, it expects its revenue to grow to $3.5 billion.
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Spotify
Spotify has worked on adding more content to its service in the form of podcasts and audiobooks, and redesigned its app in a bid to keep users engaged with the platform. It had strong user growth in the first quarter of 2023 but posted another financial loss.
The streaming company recorded 515 million active monthly users, a 22% increase from the previous year. That represented Spotify's largest-ever first-quarter increase and outperformed projections by 15 million.
According to the company, growth was seen across almost all age groups and in developed and emerging economies.
The number of people who pay to subscribe to Spotify was up 15% to 210 million, also exceeding Spotify's expectations, according to The Wall Street Journal. But it posted a loss of around $248 million in the first quarter of 2023, more significant than its $231 million revenue drop in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Executives have stated that as the company attempts to expand into new types of audio and draw customers worldwide, investment will take precedence over profit. However, they expect Spotify's profits to improve in 2023.
Approximately 600 people, or about 6% of Spotify's personnel, were let go in January as part of a more extensive cost-cutting effort following a spending binge during the pandemic. The business reported on Tuesday that the layoffs' accompanying severance costs increased operating expenditures for the quarter.
For the current quarter, Spotify forecasts monthly active users to grow to 530 million and premium subscribers to 217 million. Additionally, it expects its revenue to grow to $3.5 billion.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
To be fair, Spotify essentially invented and popularized streaming on-demand music services, and they have a vastly larger total audience than any other service. Given that its audience is at least five times the size of its nearest competitor, Apple Music, how can it continue to lose so much of its investor’s money?
Something is really siphoning off Spotify’s income is the only conclusion I can come up with. Probably a combination of too many promotional premium trials tied in with other products, and excessive executive compensation. Either way, from here it looks like a really bad investment for shareholders hoping for a good return on investment, at present you won’t see any return at all.
If you NEED half a billion customers, with half of them being paying subscribers to make a real go of something, your business plan needs a rethink IMO.
Spotify otn the other hand is like Google. They provide everything including the kitchen sink.
But Google is famous for numerous failed projects.
The only thing keeping Google afloat are its advertising business and search business.
which by making billions, can support numerous failed projects.
Spotify has to get rid of its free service with ads if that doesn't make money.
Apple only gives you free as a loss leader temporarily until you get hooked in to paying them.
Spotify should do the same.
The biggest problem for Spotify is that it has shareholders and is a public company.
This puts enormous pressure to turn a profit in the short run.
This means making bad decisions for the long term.
Apple on the other hand primarily looks long term.
- They argue that Apple harms them by locking them out of platforms such as their speakers and carplay. Yet even when the APIs for these become available Spotify is either slow or completely non-existent even years after the launch. It can't be a cost/development issue, as smaller players with less resources are available on these additional Apple-run platforms.
- Spotify simultaneously believe they should have the right to advertise a route to payment on their website (against the terms they agreed to), while providing Apple no payment for the cost of distributing their app to hundreds of millions of users. Every single update that they push is a new cost for Apple, amongst many other costs of hosting their app. So all things being equal, if Spotify wish to break that agreement, why should Apple keep their side of the deal? Why shouldn't Apple be sending them hosting and distribution costs?
- Spotify do not compete in the media landscape whatsoever, all other media providers have expanded into other offerings such as video or enhanced audio technologies. Spotify still hasn't delivered on enhanced audio years after their published launch date.
The company's board needs to be vacated and replaced with people who aren't freaking idiots.