Spotify Ad Business Boosted by Podcasts
Spotify Technology SA’s
SPOT -2.21%
big bet on podcasts appears to be paying off.
Third-quarter advertising revenue was up 75% from a year earlier, and user growth picked up after a lull earlier this year.
At the end of the quarter, Spotify had 381 million monthly active users, up 19% from a year earlier and at the high end of the company’s expectations. Paying subscribers, its most lucrative type of customer, also climbed 19% to 172 million, in line with the company’s guidance range.
Average revenue per user for the subscription business in the quarter climbed 4% to €4.34, equivalent to $5.03. That is a turnaround for the metric, which has been declining for years as the company attracted new subscribers through discounted plans and lower prices in newer markets. Last fall, Spotify began raising the price of its…
