And bref: Spotify added a record number of subscribers in the last quarter, but is still losing money. His latest promotion hopes to tackle the latter, eventually. Until September 11, 2022, users who have not yet tried Spotify Premium can enjoy three months of service absolutely free. Premium provides ad-free music listening, unlimited skips, and the ability to download content for offline listening.
Once the promotion expires, the standard rate of $9.99 per month will go into effect unless you cancel.
Spotify ended the second quarter with 188 million paid (Premium) subscribers, compared to 182 million in the previous quarter and 14% more compared to the same period a year earlier. Total monthly active users, which includes free tier listeners, reached 433 million, a year-on-year increase of 19%.
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Even with all those listeners, Spotify posted a loss in its most recent quarter. With a free listening promotion like this, the Swedish streaming giant is no doubt hoping to convert some of the free trial members into paying customers once the promotion expires later this year.
Spotify has also taken other steps to improve its finances lately.
In June, an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg claimed the company would cut new hiring by 25% due to recession fears. Last month, Spotify quietly discontinued its Car Thing dashboard accessory just five months after making it available to the general public.
Last week, the company launched a new website to test concert ticket sales. Whether the business will sink or swim remains to be seen, as most ticket agents have a pretty shabby reputation due to shady practices like buying large quantities of in-demand tickets and reselling them for a premium.
One thing Spotify could do to potentially generate more revenue is launch HiFi, its high-quality music streaming service. In February 2021, we were told that the service would arrive later in the year, but that never materialized. At this point, we wonder if it will ever launch.
Image credit: Studio Eyestix, Omid Armin