Considering it's still the biggest name in music streaming, we expect Ek isn't too concerned if it takes a while to turn profitable. Spotify is planning to experiment with more changes to its advertising, content creation, and sponsorship models while the pandemic rages on. Losing money during a pandemic is natural, according to Ek. According to the Wall Street Journal, Spotify lost money partially because of its own decision to bring new users on by offering free trials (often extended for newbies to stay on for longer in the hopes of getting them hooked) and discounted deals for consumers in India, Russia, and other new markets. But no chief executive likes to lose money. The more songs, the better - even if it makes no sense and comes at the expense of struggling musicians. What the boss says - Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek has a reputation for quantity over quality, whether that's in terms of content on the platform or users of it. This drop is perhaps more understandable when you consider the inevitable belt-tightening of many of Spotify's users during the pandemic, combined with its aggressive acquisitive strategy that focuses on user growth more than how much it can eke out of each user. That should be a reason for the Swedish streaming giant to celebrate, after all, that growth is thanks in part to its feverish experimentation with (and investments in) podcasts, family tier and kid-friendly programs, and even patents for mood recognition technology.īut, the WSJ reports that the average revenue per Spotify user has actually fallen by eight percent. In total, Spotify's active monthly users - which includes both paying and free, ad-supported accounts - grew 27 percent year-on-year to 345 million. But its ongoing landgrab in the podcast space and accompanying increased spending on original content mean it's still spending more than it earns.

That's a year-on-year increase of 24 percent, which is no small feat. According to The Wall Street Journal, Spotify had 155 million paying subscribers at the end of the last quarter in 2020. In its Q4 2020 financial report, Spotify revealed that, despite adding more paid subscribers last year, the company nonetheless continues to lose money.

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