Spotify shuts down its Car Thing hardware initiative

News emerged yesterday that Spotify has discontinued production of its Car Thing product — the company’s first hardware device, launched only five months ago and marketed as a way to achieve more convenient listening to Spotify in automobiles.  Spotify is taking a €31 million ($31.4 million) charge in the quarter on the shutdown of the initiative, increasing its total Q2 2022 net losses to €194 million ($197 million).

That said, Spotify’s global Monthly Active Users are up 19% year-over-year (from 365 million to 422 million listeners), and quarterly revenues are up 23% year-over-year to €2.864 billion ($2.91 billion).

Critics had previously noted that it is already relatively easy for most consumers nowadays to get music from their smartphones into their car speakers.   Spotify CFO Paul Vogel noted, “We tested a number of price points, and we frankly haven’t seen the value at the higher prices that would make the current product financially viable.”

Laura Holt