Spotify Losses Narrow, Reports 100M Premium Subs

Spotify Technology narrowed its loss in the most recent quarter as the music-streaming giant invested heavily in its growing podcast business and said it now has 100 million paying users., according to The Wall Street Journal.

During the quarter, Spotify acquired podcast companies Gimlet Media and Anchor, and announced plans to acquire another podcast producer, Parcast. The company has said it plans to spend as much as $500 million on such deals this year as it expands into nonmusic audio content to keep listeners more engaged and improve margins.

The company ended the quarter with 217 million monthly active users, in line with its expectations of 215 million to 220 million. It said it now has 100 million premium subscribers—its most lucrative type of customer—at the top of its guidance, helped by promotions in the U.S. and Canada and growth in family plans.

Spotify in February launched in India, a large market that has struggled to get consumers to pay for music. The company, which had previously said more than one million users signed up in the first week in the market, said Monday growth there has outpaced expectations and it now has more than two million users in India.

In all, for the three months ended March 31, Spotify posted a loss of €142 million ($158.3 million), or 79 European cents a share, compared with a loss of €169 million, or €1.01, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 33% to €1.51 billion, at the high end of the company’s estimates. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 35 European cents a share on €1.47 billion in revenue.

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For the current quarter, Spotify said it expects total monthly active users to rise to a range of 222 million to 228 million, and premium subscribers to increase to 107 million to 110 million.