Spotify grows monthly active users to 354 million

Spotify’s Q4 2020 earnings report shows that the music streaming platform continues to grow its subscriber base.

One of the key areas that has grown more than expected is the streaming service’s podcast efforts. Spotify says that 25 percent of its total users listen to podcasts, an increase from the 23 percent reported in the previous quarter.

While Spotify’s overall podcast user base is still growing, it will be interesting to see how things play out in 2021. Some Wall Street analysts have suggested that the streaming giant’s roughly $1 billion investment in podcasting, including Gimlet Media, Anchor, The Ringer and The Joe Rogan Experience, hasn’t been driving growth for the platform overall.

Spotify’s overall monthly active user count has jumped to 345 million people, and its paying subscriber count has gone up to 155 million people.

Last quarter, Spotify reported 320 million daily active users and 144 million paid subscribers

Currently, 35 percent of Spotify users are located in Europe, 24 percent are from North America, 22 percent are in Latin America, and the rest of the world makes up 19 percent of its users.

While consumer interest in the platform may be increasing, it appears that the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been kind to the company’s financials. Spotify lost $83 million USD (roughly $106 million CAD) in Q4, a result of decreased advertising revenue. This still isn’t as bad as Q3 2020, where the company lost $93 million USD (roughly $118 million CAD).

By the end of its 2021 financial year, Spotify hopes to have somewhere between 407 and 427 million monthly active users and 172 to 184 million paid subscribers.

Source: Spotify