Spotify today posted its earnings for the first quarter of 2020, ending March 31. The music streaming service revealed that it now has 286 million monthly active users (MAUs), a 31% increase year-over-year (YoY). The number of paid subscribers has risen to 130 million, which also is a 31% increase YoY. As for revenue, the company raked in €1.8 billion in revenue, a 22% increase YoY.
The company says that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it exceeded its forecasts for “all major metrics”. It adds that its business remains “very healthy with more than €1.8 billion in liquidity”. Revenue from Premium subscriptions grew 23% YoY to €1.7 billion, while ad-supported revenue was up 17% YoY at €148 million, which the company says fell short of its expectations owing to the pandemic.
The music streaming service posted a €17 million loss for this quarter, as operating expenses increased 16% YoY to €489 million. As for the outlook for the coming quarter, the firm says that it aims to focus on supporting the creator community. It is doing so by matching donations received by organizations through the COVID-19 Music Relief program. In addition, the streaming service also launched the Artist Fundraising pick that allows “artists to highlight donations to support themselves” or Spotify’s music relief project. You can head here to read the entire earnings report.