Spotify’s subscribers rise to 188M amidst podcasting setbacks

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

In the second quarter, the number of premium subscribers increased to 188 million, while the number of active users increased to 433 million. The figures it announced last quarter were 182 million and 423 million. In the second quarter, the company says its growth in MAU was its largest ever.

The earnings come at the end of a quarter in which the company has had some teething problems. The last episode of Reply All was broadcast on June 23rd after co- hosts Alex Goldman and Emanuel Dzotsi left Gimlet. The Obamas, who signed a high profile podcasting deal with Spotify in the middle of the year, decided not to extend the deal and will instead work with another platform.

Thanks to shows like the Joe Rogan Experience and breaking bread, the number of podcasts available through its service continues to rise. audiobook is the company's next major source of growth. It acquired audiobook platform Findaway last year.

The company had a loss of 125 million this quarter and tends to prioritize subscriber growth over profits. The average revenue per user is now 4.54 compared to 4.38 last quarter.

The quarter passed without a release date or pricing for the new tier of the service, which was announced over a year ago. The tier was supposed to launch by the end of last year, but was delayed due to issues with the software. There is no clear reason for the ongoing delay.

Many of the biggest music streaming services in the west don't release comparable subscriber numbers. The latest figures for Apple and Amazon's music streaming services compiled by Music Ally are a couple of years old, but in the year 2020 Amazon Music had 55 million paying subscribers.