Spotify Reports 31% Growth In Paying Subscribers, Posts Positive Net Income For Q1

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — On Wednesday, Spotify announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2020, reporting revenue of €1.848 billion, up by 22% year-over-year.

According to Spotify, most of their revenue growth came from the subscription side of the business, with premium revenue increasing by 23% for the quarter to €1,700 million, slightly ahead of their predictions at the end of 2019.

However, average revenue per premium user declined by 6% during the period. As well, revenue from the ad-supported side of their business totaled €148 million, down 6% from the previous year during Q1 and missing Spotify’s expectations for the quarter.

According to Spotify, there were troubling signs for that side of the business. As the virus Ad-Supported Revenue took a dramatic hit in the final three weeks of the quarter which ended on March 31st, down by 20% as the pandemic began ramping up in the western world.

On the plus side for the streamer, Spotify saw a sharp uptick in usage during the quarter, with total monthly active users growing by 31% for the quarter to 286 million, markign the third consecutive quarter to see such growth.

Premium subscriptions surged as well, topping 130 million at the end of the quarter, up by 31% year-over-year.

Spotify attributed the growth in paying subscribers to the success of their Family Plan and the launch of a standalone app for kids which launched in eight new markets for the quarter, including the U.S.

Spotify also moved from red to black during the quarter, reporting net income of $1 million, a marked change from $142 million net loss the company reported at the end of Q1 2019.

Spotify was also bullish on their podcast content and touted the success of their original podcast series including “Mom’s Basement,” “Made in Medellin,” and “La Nuage.”

For Spotify’s Q2, the company predicted total active monthly users of 289-299 million with between 3 and 8 million new premium subscribers enrolling for the quarter.