Spotify Now Has 83 Million Paid Subscribers, 180 Million Monthly Users

Spotify has released its quarterly earnings report, and the company has revealed that it now has 83 million paid Premium subscribers, which is up from 70 million in January. Spotify also crossed 180 million monthly active users in the second quarter, but the music streaming service is still not making a profit.

Spotify went public earlier this year and is under pressure from shareholders to continue its growth. Spotify is still ahead of Apple Music, which officially reached 40 million paid subscribers back in April. Unlike Spotify, Apple Music doesn’t offer a free tier and users would have to start paying for a premium subscription after their three-month free trial.

The music streaming service said that its Family Plan is a primary driver for its growth in Premium subscribers. The company also said that its Hulu Bundle may have helped and it’s now “encouraged” to introduce similar offerings in the future, as pointed out by Engadget.

Although Spotify is in the lead, Apple Music might actually be beating the company when it comes to the number of paid subscribers in the U.S. Spotify didn’t specify its U.S. paid subscriber numbers in its quarterly earnings report. However, the company did say that 31 percent of its 180 million monthly active users are located in North America. That would be around 56 million paid and free Spotify users across the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Spotify said that its revenue grew by 26 percent year-over-year to €1.27 billion ($1.49 billion), which is in line with initial forecasts, according to TechCrunch. However, the music streaming service is still not making a profit despite the growth in revenue. Spotify disclosed that it saw a net loss of €394 million and an operating loss of €91 million during the second quarter.

Spotify may be having trouble in turning a profit due to high royalty payments to record labels and artists, according to MacRumors. Spotify also spent a lot on marketing campaigns to stay on top of Apple Music, but the strategy may have hampered the possibility of profitability during the quarter.

Looking ahead, Spotify estimates that it may have a total of 188 to 193 million monthly active users during the third quarter. The company also believes that it could gain 85 million to 88 million paid subscribers during the same period, with an expected revenue of €1.2 billion to €1.4 billion.