Spotify Claims it Missed 2 Million New Users Due to COVID-19 Lockdown and Complicated Email Sign Up

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 28 July 2021, 12:07 pm

Spotify reaches 365 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2021. However, the number is lower than they've expected.

Spotify Releases Second Quarter Numbers

Spotify explained that the slowdown in the growth of total listeners is due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 that affected numerous regions.

The pandemic had also crimped people's interest in listening to music on the go since they can't go anywhere during the lockdown, according to Variety.

Aside from the pandemic, Spotify also had an issue with its system that verifies new signups via email addresses. People who wish to subscribe to Spotify provide their email addresses linked to a third-party platform.

Also Read: Spotify Price Hike set for US, UK, and Europe

The online streaming service refused to name the third-party platform but acknowledged that the complication of the verification had caused some damage. The company may have fixed the issue, but they lost 2 million new accounts, according to Billboard.

COVID-19 had prevented Spotify from adding as many new members, especially in countries like India, where the pandemic had affected millions of people.

Keeping the Expectations Low

Spotify had anticipated that the number of subscribers on the app will be affected due to the pandemic. This prompted the streaming service to change its initial goal.

The streaming service is now expected to end the year with 400 million subscribers who will use the app at least once a month.

In April, Spotify stated that it is anticipating at least 422 million active listeners until the end of the year. Spotify shares decreased to 2.5% in the premarket trading.

Even though there is a slowdown in the number of total listeners, the latest figures show that Spotify is still the most used music streaming service globally.

The company had managed to beat Apple Music, its biggest rival.

As more and more people switch to streaming music and podcasts on their phones, Spotify and Apple Music emerged as the leaders in a tight race to dominate the subscription music industry.

Spotify may be the biggest streaming service by both subscribers and listeners, but Apple Music has benefited from the popularity of the Apple products, with iPhone being responsible for recruiting new subscribers.

The streaming service said that even though it could not add as many new listeners as it hoped, it already has existing users who have been listening to the app's content longer.

Spotify stated that it is focusing on expanding podcasts on its platform, aiming to make the app the go-to place to stream music and programming.

For the second quarter of 2021, Spotify also reported a loss of $23.6 million or 19 cents a share. This is a better number than last year's $419 million reported loss, equivalent to $2.25 a share, according to Capital.

Spotify is also working on adding more features to entice new subscribers and keep the old ones entertained. On July 27, the app released the "What's New" feature that shows users the latest content from the podcast and artists they follow.

The new feature will keep you up to date with the contents and notify you if a new episode or new music is added.