SPOTIFY'S PAY TIER
HITS 155M SUBS

Spotify’s premium-subscriber count hit 155m during the last quarter of 2020, a rise of 24% over 2019. Total monthly active users grew 27% to 345m.

For the full year, net additions hit a record 30m, 10m of them ponied up in Q4. Europe and North America led the growth.

Total MAUs saw double-digit year-over-year growth across all regions. For the full year, Spotify had 74m net additions, 25m coming in Q4. Growth was strongest in India, the U.S. and Western Europe.

“Despite the global uncertainty of 2020, it was a remarkable year for Spotify,” CEO and Founder Daniel Ek said in a conference call with analysts. “Following a strong Q2 and Q3, Q4 met or exceeded our guidance by nearly every metric.”

In 2020, Spotify brought in €7.88b, posting a gross profit of €2.015b. The company’s net loss was €581m.

Q4 revenues of €2.17b ($2.61b) were up 24% over 2019, limited by depreciation of the U.S. dollar. Revenue from subscriptions rose 15% to €1.89b. Advertising revenue, a growth area on the podcast side, was up 29% in Q4, bringing in €281m.

Spotify's stock posted a series of all-time highs during Q4, rising from $250.19 on 10/1 to $314.66 on New Year’s Eve. Its Tuesday closing price of $345.05 is just a few bucks off its all-time-high close of $352 on 1/8.

Believing the pandemic has had little impact on subscriber growth, Spotify predicts that total MAUs will reach between 407m and 427m in 2021, with 172m-184m premium subscribers.

Ek said he would detail the company’s expansion and acquisition plans for 2021 in a virtual event later this month.