Spotify pulled in additional than new listeners than it anticipated for the fourth quarter, because the streamer narrowed its internet loss and took a cost associated to mass layoffs on the finish of 2023 to chop bills.

For the fourth quarter of 2023, the corporate reported income of €3.67 billion, up 16% and in-line with steerage, and a internet lack of €70 million — higher than anticipated resulting from decrease advertising and personnel prices — in contrast with a internet loss €270 million within the year-earlier interval.

In This fall, Spotify add 28 million whole month-to-month energetic customers general, to achieve 602 million, and gained 10 million Premium subscribers to face at 236 million. Beforehand, Spotify had informed traders it anticipated so as to add 27 million whole month-to-month energetic customers and 9 million subscribers in This fall.

Spotify’s working bills grew 2% year-over-year primarily from €139 million in fees associated to its layoffs in December. Gross margin for the quarter was 26.7%, up from 25.3% a yr earlier, which the corporate stated mirrored enhancing developments in its podcasting and music companies partially offset by audiobooks start-up prices and severance-related fees.

Premium income grew 17% yr over yr whereas ad-Supported income grew 12% to an all-time quarterly excessive of €501 million, in keeping with Spotify. Music promoting income grew double-digits whereas podcast promoting income “grew within the wholesome double-digit vary, pushed by important progress in offered impressions throughout unique and licensed podcasts and the Spotify Viewers Community, partially offset by softer pricing,” the corporate stated.

In December, Spotify introduced that it was slashing 17% of its workforce, a spherical of layoffs chopping about 1,500 jobs from its world headcount of 9,000. “I made a decision {that a} substantial motion to rightsize our prices was the best choice to perform our goals,” CEO Daniel Ek wrote in a Dec. 4 memo to staffers. The cuts are deeper than Spotify’s two prior waves of layoffs in 2023: In January, Spotify laid off 600 staff eliminating 600 jobs then in June laid off one other 200 staff in a reorg associated to its podcasting enterprise.

On the podcast entrance, Spotify has pivoted away from buying unique platform rights and as a substitute has adopted a technique of broadly distributing exhibits to maximise viewers attain. Final Friday, the corporate introduced a multiyear deal renewal with Joe Rogan — who hosts its No. 1 podcast — value as a lot as $250 million. Underneath the pact, “The Joe Rogan Expertise” ends its three-year unique run on Spotify, whereas Spotify will handle distribution and advert gross sales for the favored podcast.