Despite its undisputed dominance in the music streaming industry, Spotify has long struggled with profitability, consistently reporting net losses of hundreds of millions of euros each year. However, the Swedish streaming giant is on the verge of a significant achievement, with a projected first year of profitability.
According to data from OnlyAccounts.io, Spotify recorded a net profit of €471 million in the first half of 2024, marking its first profitable period since inception.
Over 26 Million New Premium Subscribers Drive Spotify’s Profitability
Since its launch in 2008, Spotify has frequently come close to profitability, most notably in 2021 during the surge in streaming services due to the pandemic. Although Spotify’s revenue first exceeded one billion euros in 2015, the company still faced a net loss of €230 million that year, largely due to substantial royalty payments to artists and license holders.
In 2016, losses worsened, exceeding half a billion euros for the first time. The situation peaked in 2017 with a net loss of over €1.2 billion. Despite reductions in losses in subsequent years, Spotify ended 2023 with a significant €532 million net loss, echoing figures from 2020 and 2022.
Yet, with a surge in users, especially Premium subscribers, 2024 is shaping up to be a breakthrough year for Spotify. From June 2023 to June 2024, the platform added over 26 million new Premium subscribers, bringing the total to 246 million. The overall user base grew by 75 million to 626 million.
This substantial increase in paying subscribers has led to a 21% year-over-year rise in Premium revenue, reaching €3.35 billion in Q2 2024. However, a contributing factor to Spotify’s profitability is the significant reduction in workforce; the company has laid off over 2,300 employees in the past two years, decreasing its workforce from around 10,000 to approximately 7,400 by mid-2024.
Spotify’s Accumulated Loss Remains Over €4.3 Billion
While 2024 may mark Spotify’s first half-year of profit, its accumulated loss over the past fifteen years remains considerable, totaling over €4.2 billion—ten times the profit reported in H1 2024.
Nevertheless, with 226 million Premium subscribers, Spotify surpasses other major players in the market. YouTube Music and Apple Music each have half as many paying users, and Amazon’s music streaming service has even fewer.
