Spotify posted several notable increases in its fourth-quarter earnings report. Revenue, subscribers, and podcast interest were all on the rise for the streaming service over the course of 2019.
The company’s Q4 revenue grew 24% year-over-year to €1.855 billion ($2.04 billion). Both premium and ad-supported revenue grew at a similar pace for the period. Premium revenue grew 24% to €1.638 billion, while ad-supported revenue increased 23% to €217 million. Spotify said its direct, programmatic, and ad studio channels each reported double-digit growth rates.
Even though Spotify did have growth in key revenue streams, it posted a net loss of €209 million ($230 million), or €1.14 per diluted share, for the quarter. That’s a flip from the €442 million profit the company saw in Q4 2018. Annual net loss for Spotify also grew from €78 million in 2018 to €186 million in 2019.
Spotify had 271 million total monthly active users in Q4, a 31% on-year increase. In the shareholder letter, the company observed that in addition to growing its MAU base, it has also posted improved retention rates in each of its top 20 markets.
The streaming service now has 124 million premium subscribers. That total marks a 29% jump from the year-ago period. Spotify said that Q4 2019 was its biggest net-add quarter to date and marked the fastest it had ever added 10 million subscribers.
Europe is still responsible for just over a third (25%) of Spotify’s total MAU, and accounts for a bigger 40% share of the subscriber audience. North America also has a big chunk of Spotify listeners, representing 27% of total MAU and 30% of subscribers.
Podcasts have been a heavy focus for the company over the past year, and Spotify said that more than 16% of its total MAUs engage with podcast content. Podcasts have also seen nearly 200% on-year growth in consumption hours during Q4.