Spotify passes 200 million paying users, posts 2022 loss

Music streaming giant Spotify on Tuesday reported a total of 205 million paying subscribers at the end of 2022, beating expectations, but its losses deepened.

The Swedish company, which last week announced it was cutting almost six per cent of its workforce to reduce costs, posted a net loss of 430 million euros ($465 million) for the year.

Analysts had forecast a loss of 441 million euros, according to Factset.

Revenue for the full year also slightly beat forecasts, coming in at 11.7 billion euros or a rise of 21 per cent from a year earlier.

The number of paying subscribers climbed by 14 per cent to 205 million, beating analysts' expectations of 202 million, which the group attributed to strong growth in all regions, especially in Latin America.

It is the first time Spotify has surpassed 200 million paying subscribers.

Among other things, the company said it had benefited from promotional campaigns, a strong holiday season, and robust growth among Gen Z users.

The total number of monthly users, including subscribers using the free version, totalled 489 million at the end of the year and should hit the 500 million mark in 2023, Spotify said.

The platform, based in Stockholm but listed in New York, has only occasionally posted a quarterly profit since its launch.

It has regularly posted annual losses, despite strong subscriber growth and has had a headstart on its rivals such as Apple Music and Amazon Music.

Spotify founder and chief executive Daniel Ek last week announced the group was cutting around 600 jobs, out of around 10,000, following other similar moves by tech industry giants.