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Tag: Daniel Ek

  • Spotify Q4 strikes a chord with record-breaking 16 per cent revenue uptick

    Spotify Q4 strikes a chord with record-breaking 16 per cent revenue uptick

    MUMBAI: Spotify has cranked up the volume on success, wrapping up 2024 with a Q4 that hit all the right notes. The music streaming powerhouse saw nearly every key metric outperform expectations, proving that when it comes to growth, Spotify is playing a chart-topping hit.

    The platform’s monthly active users (MAUs) surged to 675 million, marking a 12 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase, while premium subscribers climbed 11 per cent to 263 million. Clearly, more people than ever are hitting play on Spotify’s offerings, and the company isn’t skipping a beat.

    Revenue swelled to €4.24 billion, reflecting a 16 per cent YoY increase, with both premium and ad-supported segments driving the momentum. The premium segment alone raked in €3.7 billion, up 17 per cent, fueled by strong subscriber growth and an uptick in average revenue per user (ARPU). Meanwhile, ad-supported revenue reached €537 million, a seven per cent annual rise, even as the global ad market faced turbulence.

    Spotify’s advertising business continued its ascent, with both music and podcast ad revenue showing solid gains. However, pricing softness in some regions tempered overall ad growth. Automated sales channels played a pivotal role in pushing ad revenue higher, especially in fast-growing markets. The ad-supported gross margin rose to 15.1 per cent, an increase of 351 basis points (bps) YoY, reflecting smarter monetisation strategies and enhanced content efficiencies.

    Not to be outdone, Spotify’s gross margin soared to 32.2 per cent, a resounding 555 bps increase YoY. And for the real showstopper: the company recorded an operating income of €477 million—its highest ever—securing its first full year of operating profitability.

    In the realm of free cash flow (FCF), Spotify turned the dial all the way up. The company generated €877 million in Q4, pushing its total FCF for 2024 to a record-breaking €2.3 billion. That’s a lot of cash dancing to the beat of Spotify’s success.

    With the company in full growth mode and its financials singing a happy tune, 2025 looks like another year where Spotify will keep the hits—and the numbers—rolling.

  • Sony & Spotify ink partnership for new music service on PlayStation

    Sony & Spotify ink partnership for new music service on PlayStation

    MUMBAI: Sony Network Entertainment International LLC (SNEI) and Spotify have inked a global strategic partnership to deliver a best-in-class digital music experience to PlayStation Network and its 64 million active users.

     

    Through this partnership, SNEI will launch a new music destination in Spring 2015 called PlayStation Music, with Spotify as the exclusive partner. Spotify on PlayStation Music will roll out in 41 markets, initially for PlayStation consoles and Xperia smartphones and tablets. 

     

    “Music is a core component of the entertainment offering that consumers expect from Sony, and our goal with PlayStation Music is to provide the most compelling music experiences to the millions of PlayStation Network users around the world. This partnership represents the best in music and the best in gaming coming together, which will benefit the vibrant and passionate communities of both Spotify and PlayStation Network. We’re thrilled to make Spotify the foundation of our strategy with PlayStation Music,” said Sony Computer Entertainment Inc president and group CEO and Network Entertainment Business group executive in charge Andrew House. 

     

    PlayStation Network and Spotify’s award-winning digital music service will be deeply integrated, offering unique and exclusive benefits to users. PlayStation Network users can link their accounts with Spotify, making it easy to subscribe to Spotify’s Premium service through the PlayStation Network wallet. 

     

    “We are incredibly honored to partner with Sony and PlayStation to give gamers around the world an amazing experience wherever they listen to music. As a gamer and PlayStation 4 user myself, I’m super excited to be able to soundtrack my FIFA 15 Arsenal matches later this spring,” said Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek. 

     

    Spotify on PlayStation Music will offer more than 30 million songs and 1.5 billion playlists on PlayStation4 (PS4) and PlayStation3 (PS3) systems, as well as Xperia smartphones and tablets. Users will be able to create a music collection and listen to playlists (including existing playlists from current Spotify users as well as Spotify curated playlists) and enjoy the service on all of Spotify’s supported devices. Additionally, PS4 owners will be able to use Spotify while playing games, enabling them to soundtrack their gaming sessions with their favourite songs playing in the background. 

     

    SNEI’s current Music Unlimited service will close in all 19 countries on 29 March9, 2015. Nearly all of these countries will be among the 41 markets where PlayStation Music featuring Spotify will be available at launch. From 28 February, 2015, Music Unlimited users with active subscriptions will receive up to 30 days of free access to Music Unlimited through 29 March, 2015, and will be offered an introductory Spotify Premium trial.