Spotify, Facing Pushback Against Joe Rogan, Reports Jump in Users

On Spotify’s earnings call Wednesday, Chief Executive Daniel Ek called it a very complicated issue and said Mr. Rogan, like other creators on the company’s platform, has to abide by its content policies. He added that it was too early to tell if the controversy was having an impact on subscribers.

“There’s no doubt that the last several weeks have presented a number of learning opportunities,” Mr. Ek said on the call. “We believe we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users.”

For the fourth quarter, Spotify reported 406 million monthly active users, up 18% from a year earlier and at the high end of the company’s guidance. Paying subscribers, its most lucrative type of customer, rose 16% to 180 million, also at the top of the company’s expectations.

Spotify shares—down 44% over the past year to $191.92—fell another 11% in after-hours trading as the company said it wouldn’t provide annual guidance. On the company’s earnings call, Spotify financial chief Paul Vogel said that while the company wasn’t providing such guidance, it didn’t anticipate any material change this year in its user-growth trajectory.

Spotify’s outlook for the current quarter was roughly in line with analysts’ views.

Average revenue per user for the subscription business in the recently completed quarter climbed 3% to €4.40. The increase marks the second quarter of a turnaround for the metric, which had been pressured downward for years as the company attracted new subscribers through discounted plans and lower prices in newer markets. A little over a year ago, Spotify began raising the price of its family plan in dozens of markets, including the U.S., which has helped increase revenue on a per-user basis.

Revenue from subscriptions climbed 22% to €2.295 billion, equivalent to roughly $2.6 billion. Advertising revenue shot up 40% to €394 million. Advertising, which typically has accounted for around 10% of overall revenue, has become a particular growth area as Spotify expands its podcast business. During the quarter, advertising made up about 15% of total revenue.

Spotify said it has 3.6 million podcasts available on its service, up from 3.2 million in the previous quarter.

Mr. Young’s protest against Spotify has attracted other musicians, including David Crosby and Stephen Stills on Wednesday. The actions come as Mr. Rogan has apologized and pledged to be more balanced and informed about controversial topics and guests.

Mr. Rogan has used his popular Spotify show to discuss Covid-19 vaccines and restrictions, speaking against vaccine mandates for indoor events and suggesting that young, healthy people shouldn’t be vaccinated.

In all for the quarter ended Dec. 31, Spotify’s revenue rose 24% to €2.69 billion, above the company’s expectations.

Spotify reported a narrower loss of €39 million from a loss of €125 million a year earlier. Per share, the company posted a loss of 21 European cents, compared with a year-earlier loss of 66 European cents. While the company has periodically reported a quarterly profit, executives have said it would continue to give priority to growth—attracting new subscribers and investing in podcasting.

Free cash flow, a measure of the cash a company generates from operations, and viewed by many investors as a proxy for performance, was €103 million, up from €74 million a year earlier and €99 million in the previous quarter.

For the current first quarter, the company said it expects monthly active users of 418 million, premium subscribers of 183 million and revenue of €2.6 billion. Analysts, on average, were expecting 418.2 million monthly active users, 184 million premium subscribers and €2.6 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

News Corp’s Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, has a content partnership with Spotify’s Gimlet Media unit.

Write to Anne Steele at [email protected]