ReutersMusic streaming service Spotify added 25 million monthly active users for the quarter ended December 31, 2020, benefiting from faster growth in India, the United States and western Europe.
In a letter to shareholders, Spotify said India was a notable source of growth as compared to its forecasts, driven by its marketing campaigns in the country. The company however didn't disclose any specific details on its user base in India.
Spotify added a record 74 million users in all in 2020 compared to 64 million users in 2019, taking its total to 345 million monthly active users.
Of these, about 155 million are paid subscribers. This number has been growing at 24% a year. The company said it added 30 million paid subscribers in 2020, as compared to 28 million in 2019. In the fourth quarter alone it added 10 million subscribers, with growth led by Europe and North America.
Revenue from the premium segment, which accounts for the majority of Spotify's topline, grew by 15% year-on-year (YoY) to about $2.27 billion, while ad-supported revenue increased by 29% YoY to about $337.8 million. Total revenue grew by 17% YoY to about $2.61 billion.
The number of sponsored recommendations - marketing campaigns through which the company charges artists and music labels to promote new releases - increased by more than 50% from the previous quarter, with December being the single largest month ever. More than half of such customers in Q4 were new customers, which led to a 82% increase in billings from the previous quarter.
"We have seen per user consumption in large regions such as Europe and North America return to growth, while Latin America and the rest of the world show signs of improvement but remain slightly below pre-Covid levels," the company said.
Podcast push
Spotify's heavy push into podcasts also seems to be paying off. About 25% of its monthly active users engaged with podcast content during the quarter, as compared to 22% in the previous quarter. Spotify now has 2.2 million podcasts on its platform, up from 1.9 million in the previous quarter.
"We continue to see strong growth in podcast consumption, with consumption hours in Q4 nearly doubling since Q4 2019. Based on the behavior we see when users first join Spotify, we are confident that podcast usage has been a factor in the accelerated net additions," the company said in the letter.
During the quarter, The Joe Rogan Experience, one of the world’s biggest podcasts, became exclusive to Spotify, while the company also announced a new multiyear partnership with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Archewell Audio. Internationally, it launched 57 new original and exclusive podcasts, including its first podcast in Telugu called 'Lifetime NTR'.
In India, Spotify faces intense competition from Times Internet's Gaana*, Reliance Industries-owned JioSaavn, YouTube Music, Amazon Prime Music, Bytedance's Resso, and Hungama. Gaana is currently the market leader with more than 185 million monthly active users in India.
*Disclosure: Times Internet owns ETtech
In a letter to shareholders, Spotify said India was a notable source of growth as compared to its forecasts, driven by its marketing campaigns in the country. The company however didn't disclose any specific details on its user base in India.
ET reported last December that Spotify had rolled out daily and weekly plans priced at Rs 7 a day and Rs 25 a week under the Spotify Premium Mini offering, allowing consumers to access select premium features such as ad-free music and the ability to download up to 30 songs on a single phone or tablet.
Spotify added a record 74 million users in all in 2020 compared to 64 million users in 2019, taking its total to 345 million monthly active users.
Of these, about 155 million are paid subscribers. This number has been growing at 24% a year. The company said it added 30 million paid subscribers in 2020, as compared to 28 million in 2019. In the fourth quarter alone it added 10 million subscribers, with growth led by Europe and North America.
Revenue from the premium segment, which accounts for the majority of Spotify's topline, grew by 15% year-on-year (YoY) to about $2.27 billion, while ad-supported revenue increased by 29% YoY to about $337.8 million. Total revenue grew by 17% YoY to about $2.61 billion.
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The number of sponsored recommendations - marketing campaigns through which the company charges artists and music labels to promote new releases - increased by more than 50% from the previous quarter, with December being the single largest month ever. More than half of such customers in Q4 were new customers, which led to a 82% increase in billings from the previous quarter.
"We have seen per user consumption in large regions such as Europe and North America return to growth, while Latin America and the rest of the world show signs of improvement but remain slightly below pre-Covid levels," the company said.
Podcast push
Spotify's heavy push into podcasts also seems to be paying off. About 25% of its monthly active users engaged with podcast content during the quarter, as compared to 22% in the previous quarter. Spotify now has 2.2 million podcasts on its platform, up from 1.9 million in the previous quarter.
"We continue to see strong growth in podcast consumption, with consumption hours in Q4 nearly doubling since Q4 2019. Based on the behavior we see when users first join Spotify, we are confident that podcast usage has been a factor in the accelerated net additions," the company said in the letter.
During the quarter, The Joe Rogan Experience, one of the world’s biggest podcasts, became exclusive to Spotify, while the company also announced a new multiyear partnership with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Archewell Audio. Internationally, it launched 57 new original and exclusive podcasts, including its first podcast in Telugu called 'Lifetime NTR'.
In India, Spotify faces intense competition from Times Internet's Gaana*, Reliance Industries-owned JioSaavn, YouTube Music, Amazon Prime Music, Bytedance's Resso, and Hungama. Gaana is currently the market leader with more than 185 million monthly active users in India.
*Disclosure: Times Internet owns ETtech
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