Video streaming businesses are stuck in the doghouse. Viewers, freed from lockdown leashes, go out more and watch less TV at home. Penny pinching consumers are becoming pickier about subscription services. Netflix lost nearly 1mn subscribers in the second quarter, after losing 200,000 in the first quarter.
Improbably Spotify has bucked the trend. The music streaming group ended the second quarter with 188mn paying subscribers. That is a 14 per cent jump from the year ago period, just topping analyst expectations. Total users — which includes freeloaders — also trounced forecasts at 433mn. The figure is expected to reach 450mn in the current quarter, including another 6mn paid subscribers.
Spotify gets stick for its lack of differentiation. The group sells the same product — access to a catalogue of 82mn songs — as cash-rich tech heavyweights Apple, Amazon and Google. This makes raising prices hard. Its US premium subscription still costs $9.99 a month, the same as when it launched in 2011.