Spotify reports total revenue of $7.44 billion in 2019
The service now has 124 million paid subscribers
Spotify has reported a total revenue of $7.44 billion in 2019.
Announced on February 5th, as part of the streaming giant's For The Record financial performance report, Spotify revealed they had made a total revenue of $7.44 billion last year, an increase of 29% when compared to 2018.
In the report, Spotify shared that the service now has 124 million paid subscribers, compared to the 96 million at the end of 2018. The service also cited podcasts as one of the fastest-growing sections of the platform, with a 200% year-on-year growth in podcast hours streamed.
In a letter to shareholders, Spotify wrote: "The business continued to perform well in 4Q19. For the third consecutive quarter, total MAU growth accelerated while Subscribers, Revenue, and Gross Margin all met or exceeded our expectations. We continue to see exponential growth in podcast hours streamed (up approximately 200% Y/Y) and are now seeing clear indications that podcast usage is driving increased overall engagement and retention.
We have seen early indications that our investments in podcasts are having a positive impact on conversion of free to paid users. Overall, the business performance remains strong, and we believe we are well positioned for growth in the coming year."
The total monthly active users (MAU) also grew 31% to 271 million, with listeners in Europe accounting for 35% of the MAU, 27% for North America, 22% in Latin America, and 16% across the rest of the world.
You can check out the full Spotify report here.
At the beginning of this year, Spotify announced it would be banning all political advertisements for its service users in the U.S.
In less serious news, the company also created a playlist generator specifically designed for owners of iguanas, birds, hamsters, dogs and cats.
