Spotify India narrows net loss in FY23

Audio streaming giant Spotify's India unit narrowed its net loss by 26% to Rs 344 crore in the financial year ended March 2023, according to the company's financial data sourced from business intelligence platform Tofler.

Spotify India LLP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweden’s Spotify AB, grew its revenue by 86% to Rs 167 crore. Expenditure fell 9% to Rs 504 crore.

The platform's subscription revenue jumped 66% to Rs 88 crore, while ad revenue surged 91% to Rs 63 crore.

Spotify entered the Indian market in 2019. The company is yet to file its FY24 financials.

Globally, India is one of the fastest-growing markets for Spotify, which had 615 million active users globally, including 239 million premium users and 388 million ad-supported users as of March 2024.

Spotify India competes with JioSaavn, Amazon Prime Music, Google Music, Apple Music, Gaana, and Airtel's Wynk.

The audio streaming platform follows a hybrid ad and subscription-based model in India as majority of the music content is commoditised.

For the quarter ended March 2024, Spotify expanded its ad business, Spotify Audience Network (SPAN), into five new markets, including India.

In an earlier interaction with ET, Spotify India MD Amarjit Batra said the platform’s focus in the first five years was to build a strong user base in the country.

"In parallel, we have made Premium more accessible and relevant in India through our subscription plans that range from a day to a year, and from student plan to family plan," Batra said.

In its 2023 annual report, Spotify said it has significant net operating loss carry-forwards in India of €117 million (Rs 1,057 crore).

India has an audio streaming base of 185-200 million as of 2023, according to a FICCI-EY report on media and entertainment. However, paid subscriptions reached only 7 million due to commoditisation of music content.

As audio OTTs start pushing subscription plans, the paid customer base is expected to double to 15 million in 2026, the report said but noted that availability of free music on radio and YouTube will remain a big stumbling block in growing the audio OTT base.

The report also said low profitability of audio streaming platforms could lead to consolidation or platform shutdowns in the medium term.