Spotify currently has 236 million paid premium users, which was a 4% increase from the previous quarter, and total monthly active users increased by 5% to 602 million. The news comes as part of Spotify's fourth-quarter earnings report, which covers the three months ended December 31. During 2023, Spotify's number of users and premium subscribers grew by 113 million and 31 million respectively, setting new records for the company.
The results capped a year of cost cuts and price increases at the world's largest audio streaming service. In December last year, the company announced that it would lay off 17%, or more than 1,500 people. This is the third round of large-scale layoffs since 2023. Earlier this year, Spotify also raised its prices in the U.S. and other markets around the world, notably raising the monthly fee for a premium subscription to $10.99, up from $9.99 set more than a decade ago.
Despite efforts to improve operating efficiency, Spotify posted a quarterly loss of 70 million euros (about $75 million), down from a profit of 65 million euros (about $70 million) in the third quarter. But compared with the loss of 270 million euros (about 290 million U.S. dollars) in the same period last year, the situation has improved. The net loss for the full year of 2023 was 532 million euros (approximately US$570 million). However, the average revenue per user has increased and is currently 4.60 euros, compared with 4.34 euros in the previous quarter and 4.55 euros in the same period last year. Advertising revenue for the quarter also increased to 501 million euros (approximately $538 million), which the Wall Street Journal noted was a record high.
Spotify has been in the news recently for its continued criticism of Apple's App Store policies, including Apple's plan to charge a core technology fee to developers who want to publish their apps in other App Stores in the European Union, as well as a 27% commission on other payment methods in the United States. It's unclear whether the tension is related to Spotify's refusal to offer its service on Apple's new Vision Pro headset, even through compatibility with its existing iPad app.
Beyond music, Apple's plans for podcasts and audiobooks continue, though the company has tweaked its strategy in recent months. Recently, Apple renewed its agreement with Joe Rogan but said it will now allow his podcasts to be distributed through other podcast platforms. On the audiobook front, the streaming service now allows premium subscribers to get 15 hours of audiobook content as part of their subscription, which was previously only sold as additional on-demand content.
Today's press release once again omits the launch date for Spotify's lossless streaming option. Nearly three years ago in February 2021, Spotify announced this feature, which was called "HiFi" at the time, but has yet to announce an official launch date. As of March last year, the feature was still set to roll out "at some point," and recent reports suggest it may now be named "Supremium," though it's unclear exactly when the feature will be revealed.