From The Verge: Spotify’s number of premium subscribers increased to 188 million in its second quarter, while its monthly active users (MAU) now sit at 433 million, the company announced in an earnings release today. That’s a year-over-year increase of 14 percent and 19 percent, respectively, and compares to the 182 million and 422 million figures it announced last quarter. The company says its growth in MAUs was its largest ever in a second quarter and exceeded its guidance.
The earnings come at the end of a quarter in which Spotify’s big push into podcasts has experienced some hiccups. One of its biggest podcasts, Reply All, broadcast its final episode on June 23rd after co-hosts Alex Goldman and Emmanuel Dzotsi decided to leave production company Gimlet. Meanwhile, the Obamas, who signed a high-profile podcasting deal with Spotify in 2019, recently decided against extending the deal and will instead work with rival podcasting platform Audible.
Spotify is still a podcasting behemoth thanks to shows like The Joe Rogan Experience and more recent hits like Breaking Bread, and the number of podcasts available through its service continues to increase. But the company is eying audiobooks as its next major source of growth. It acquired audiobook platform Findaway last year, and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has called audiobooks “a massive opportunity” for the company.
Spotify sustained a loss of €125 million (around $127 million) this quarter, though it tends to prioritize subscriber growth over quarterly profits. Average revenue per user now sits at €4.54 (around $4.60), up / down from €4.38 (around $4.44) last quarter.
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