Spotify reports record profits amid layoffs and financial changes
The streamer’s gross profits crossed the 1 billion Euro threshold for the first time
The Spotify logo is being displayed on a laptop screen with a glowing keyboard in Krakow, Poland, on March 3, 2024. (Photo by Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Spotify claims it has made record profits in the first quarter of 2024, even after making a large number of redundancies last year.
According to a new report, the Swedish streaming service’s gross profits crossed the €1 billion threshold for the first time in its history, with its total revenue increasing by 20 per cent year on year to €3,6 billion.
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Meanwhile, the platform’s number of active users grew by 19 per cent from the first quarter of 2023 to 615 million, while the number of subscribers grew by 14 per cent year on year to 239 million.
“We’ve talked about 2024 as the year of monetisation and we’re delivering on that ambition,” says Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek in a press release. “Now as we’ve shifted to focus on strong revenue growth and margin expansion, we see a clear opportunity to ensure we are also continuing to grow the top of our funnel. I feel good about the changes we are implementing and remain very confident in our ability to reach the ambitious plans we’ve outlined.”
The streamer’s first quarter success comes after it raised its Spotify Premium prices for the first time ever last summer. In addition, new reports recently emerged which have suggested they could be raising prices again soon.
The streamer also recently implemented controversial changes to its royalty system in a bid to combat “drains on the royalty pool” which involved demonetising songs that had been streamed less than 1,000 times.
Despite this, Spotify said in its annual Loud & Clear Report last month that it “set the record for the highest annual payment to the music industry from any single retailer” despite repeated claims that its rate of $0.003 – $0.005 per stream is inadequate in supporting artists, particularly when it was found that independent artists must rack up 5million streams to make U.S. minimum wage.
Earlier this month, Christian Luiga was announced to have been appointed as the company’s new CFO. He previously worked as the CFO and deputy CEO for Swedish aerospace and defense giant Saab AB.
In December, Spotify laid off 17 per cent of its staff in what it said was a “hard but crucial step” to create a “stronger, more efficient” business. Despite this, the company’s then-CFO cashed out $9 million in shares 24 hours after layoffs were announced.
