Spotify’s paid subscribers increased to 268 million in its first quarter, up 11% year-over-year and beating guidance by three million.
The total number of monthly active users grew to 675 million, up 12% year-over-year, making the highest number of net additions for the music and podcasting platform and exceeding guidance by 10 million. Revenue reached €4.2 billion, up 16% year-over-year, coming in above expectations, while operating income rose to €477 million, a record high for the company.
Spotify attributed the rise in monthly active users as being led by its “rest of the world” and Latin America segments, but with growth across all regions
Ad-supported revenue grew 8% year-over-year, as music and podcast advertising was driven by growth in impressions sold, but “partially offset by softness in pricing and optimization of our podcasting inventory” in the company’s owned & licensed portfolio.
Operating income was still slightly below the company’s guidance due to €96 million in social charges, which were €80 million above forecast due to share price appreciation during the quarter.
On the earnings call, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek spoke to the macroeconomic environment, but said he believes Spotify is “faring better than most” due to continued demand for music, as well as its freemium offering.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world, and when volatility rises, it’s natural to ask who might be affected and how and from where I sit, Spotify is faring better than most,” Ek said. “But of course, if something truly extreme happens, we may be impacted too. That said, I don’t believe anything we’re seeing today changes the long term picture for Spotify. The business is solid, our model holds up and the direction we’re heading in remains clear.”
The numbers come after the end of Spotify’s first full year of profitability and following a price increase in July 2024. Spotify has also been making a push into video podcasts, with 330,000 video podcast shows on the platform, and with 270 million users having streamed a video podcast on Spotify. “We’re seeing strong traction with users spending 44% more time with video content overall,” Ek said on the earnings call.
Audiobooks are also becoming a larger part of the platform, with 350,000 books now available a la carte.
Ek also pointed to the Spotify Partner Program, which was launched in January to grow the podcasting ads business. The program has paid out more than $100 million to podcast creators in Q1, Ek said.
For the second quarter, Spotify expects to hit 689 monthly active users, adding 11 million users in the quarter, and 273 million paid subscribers, with the addition of 5 million in the quarter.
“I am very excited about 2025 and feel really good about where we are as both a product and as a business,” Ek said “We will continue to place bets that will drive long term impact, increasing our speed while maintaining the levels of efficiency we achieved last year. It’s this combination that will enable us to build the best and most valuable user experience, grow sustainably and deliver creativity to the world.”
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