{"id":230112,"date":"2025-04-29T12:56:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T11:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=230112"},"modified":"2025-04-29T13:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T12:31:14","slug":"spotify-posts-record-high-operating-profit-for-q1-as-subscriber-base-grows-by-5m-to-268m-paid-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/spotify-posts-record-high-operating-profit-for-q1-as-subscriber-base-grows-by-5m-to-268m-paid-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotify posts record-high operating profit for Q1, as subscriber base grows by 5m to 268m paid users"},"content":{"rendered":"MBW\u2019s Stat Of The Week is a series in which we highlight a data point that deserves the attention of the global music industry. Stat Of the Week is supported by\u00a0music data analytics firm\u00a0Chartmetric<\/a>.\r\n\r\n
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Spotify grew its global Premium Subscriber base to 268 million<\/strong> paying users in Q1.<\/p>\n

That’s according to the company\u2019s latest financial results (for Q1 2025), filed Tuesday (April 29), in which SPOT reported that its Premium Subscriber base was up 12<\/strong>%<\/span> YoY<\/b><\/span>, and up by 5<\/strong>\u00a0million<\/b> net subscribers on the 263<\/strong>\u00a0million<\/b> that SPOT counted at the end of the prior quarter (Q4 2024).<\/p>\n

Spotify reported that it saw its “highest Q1 Subscriber net adds since 2020,” beating its own guidance by 3 million<\/strong> paid subs (Spotify forecast that it would reach 265 million<\/strong> subs in Q1).<\/p>\n

The streaming company also posted a\u00a0record-high quarterly Operating Income of\u00a0\u20ac509 million<\/strong> ($535.6m), which was below SPOT’s guidance\u00a0<\/span>of \u20ac548 million<\/strong> for Q1.<\/p>\n

Credit: TT News Agency \/ Alamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cSo yes, the short term may bring some noise, but we remain confident in the long-term story, and the direction we\u2019re heading in feels clearer than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel Ek<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Spotify Founder & CEO Daniel Ek<\/strong> said on Tuesday: \u201cThe underlying data at the moment is very healthy: engagement remains high, retention is strong, and thanks to our freemium model, people have the flexibility to stay with us even when things feel more uncertain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Ek: \u201cSo yes, the short term may bring some noise, but we remain confident in the long-term story, and the direction we\u2019re heading in feels clearer than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Monthly Active Users<\/h6>\n

Spotify\u2019s total number of Monthly Active Users<\/strong>, which combine paying users and ad-supported users, grew 10% YoY<\/strong><\/span> to 678<\/strong> million.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That was up 3 million<\/strong> MAUs\u00a0<\/span>from the 675<\/strong>\u00a0million <\/strong>reported for the prior quarter (Q4 2024), and in line with the company’s guidance for Q1.<\/p>\n

Spotify’s total number of Ad-supported MAUs was down by 2m, from 425 million<\/strong> in Q4 2024, to 423 million<\/strong> in Q1 2025.<\/p>\n

Spotify reports that its Quarterly MAU performance reflected YoY growth across all regions, led by its Rest of World and Latin America geographic segments, which accounted for\u00a034%<\/strong>\u00a0of and\u00a022%<\/strong> of SPOT\u2019s global MAU base, respectively (see below).<\/p>\n

The company added in its investor presentation that its quarterly MAU performance “reflected anticipated lighter volumes of net adds due to the later campaign timing of 2024 Wrapped as well as moderated marketing activity in-quarter”.<\/p>\n

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PREMIUM REVENUE<\/h6>\n

In terms of finances, Spotify generated \u20ac4.190<\/b>\u00a0billion<\/strong> ($4.4bn<\/strong>) in total<\/em> quarterly revenue (including Premium and ad-supported), which was up 15% YoY<\/strong><\/span> at constant currency.<\/p>\n

In Q1, Spotify\u2019s Premium \/ subscriber revenues grew 16% YoY<\/strong> <\/span>at constant currency to \u20ac3.771 billion ($3.968bn)<\/strong>\u00a0and was driven, according to SPOT, by its subscriber growth of 12% YoY<\/strong><\/span> and a Premium ARPU increase of 4% YoY<\/strong><\/span> to \u20ac4.73 ($4.97)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

According to Spotify, “excluding the impact of FX,” its ARPU performance was “driven by price increase benefits, partially offset by product\/market mix”.<\/p>\n

Spotify recently implemented<\/a> price increases for subscribers across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.<\/p>\n

SPOT is also preparing a sweeping price increase across several European and LatAM markets starting this summer, according to the Financial Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The US market, Spotify\u2019s largest, will reportedly be excluded from the latest round of price hikes. The US last saw a price rise from Spotify in June 2024.<\/p>\n

In terms of subscriber performance geographically in Q1, Spotify reports growth across all regions, with \u201coutperformance\u201d led by Rest of World, Latin America and Europe. <\/strong><\/p>\n

As you can see from the chart below, those three geographic segments accounted for 14%, 23% <\/strong>and 37%<\/strong> of SPOT\u2019s Premium Subscriber base, respectively, at the end of Q1.<\/p>\n

Spotify attributed its subscriber growth to “Successful regional promotional campaigns.”<\/p>\n

The company reported that its net Premium subscriber additions marked the highest Q1 since 2020 and the second-highest Q1 in the company’s history.<\/p>\n

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AD-SUPPORTED REVENUE<\/h6>\n

Spotify\u2019s Ad-Supported Revenue in Q1 2025 was \u20ac419 million ($440.9m),<\/strong> up 5% YoY<\/strong><\/span> constant currency<\/p>\n

SPOT reported that its “music and podcast advertising was driven by growth in impressions sold, partially offset by softness in pricing and optimization of our podcasting inventory in our Owned & Licensed portfolio. Our automated sales channels were the largest contributors to overall advertising growth”.<\/p>\n

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PROFITABILITY<\/h6>\n

The company\u2019s Gross Margin finished at 31.6%<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>in Q1 2025.<\/p>\n

In terms of profitability<\/strong>, Spotify posted a “record-high” operating income of \u20ac509 million ($535.6m) <\/strong>for Q1.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spotify said in an investor presentation that its operating income of \u20ac509 million “was below guidance as Gross Profit strength and lower personnel and related and marketing costs were more than offset by \u20ac76 million in Social Charges”.<\/p>\n

SPOT said that its Social Charges were \u20ac58 million ($61m) above forecast due to share price appreciation during the quarter.<\/p>\n

Spotify reported that its Gross Profit, which stood at \u20ac1.326 billion ($1.395bn) in Q1, was up 31% YoY<\/strong><\/span> at constant currency.<\/p>\n

Spotify’s operating expenses saw a decline of 3% YoY<\/strong> at constant currency, from \u20ac836 million<\/strong> in Q1 2024 to \u20ac817 million<\/strong> ($859.7m)<\/strong> in Q1 2025 (see below).<\/p>\n

According to its latest investor filing, at the end of Q1, Spotify’s workforce consisted of 7,258<\/strong>\u00a0full-time employees globally.<\/p>\n

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In terms of guidance for Q2 2025, Spotify forecasts reaching 689\u00a0million<\/strong> MAUs, an addition of around 11\u00a0million<\/strong>\u00a0net new MAUs in the quarter.<\/p>\n

The company projects its total Premium Subscriber base to hit 273\u00a0million<\/strong> in Q2, an addition of approximately 5 million<\/strong>\u00a0net new subscribers in the quarter.<\/p>\n

Spotify forecasts an operating income of\u00a0\u20ac539 million<\/strong> for Q2, and total revenue of \u20ac4.3 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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All EUR-USD conversions made at the average rate of the relevant period according to the European Central Bank<\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/figure>Chartmetric<\/a> is the all-in-one platform for artists and music industry professionals, providing comprehensive streaming, social, and audience data for everyone to create successful careers in music.<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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