Spotify reaches 155 million paying subscribers and reveals podcast boom amid lockdowns

Spotify has revealed that it had amassed 155 million paying users by the end of 2020 as a surge of listeners signed up to its streaming services amid worldwide lockdowns.

The Swedish-based company, whose app allows subscribers paying around £10 per month to stream music and podcasts from around the world ad-free, saw its number of paying “premium” subscribers rise by 24% to 155 million in the three months to the end of December 2020 - above both analyst and management expectations.

The boost came as countries around the world implemented lockdowns to combat the spread of Covid-19, and people remained at home.

The company said that the number of podcasts being streamed on the site was nearly double that seen in the same period a year earlier - with the service’s exclusive Joe Rogan Experience podcast the most-streamed podcast in 17 countries.

Spotify is attempting to become consumers’ go-to place for podcasts,  investing nearly $1 billion into the segment. It revealed late last year that it had signed a multimillion pound podcasting deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and it has bought start-ups and signed deals with other stars.  

The company said on Wednesday that it is “confident that podcast usage has been a factor in the accelerated net additions” in the final quarter of 2020. 

The firm, which is listed in the US, saw revenues rise 17% to €2.17bn (around £1.57 billion) in the period, with monthly active users - a number including people who use Spotify with ads but do not pay for a subscription - rising 27% to 345 million.

Shares in the firm, which have more than doubled over the past year, fell by around 7% in pre-market trading in the US on Wednesday.