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Spotify now boasts 236 million Premium subscribers, a 4 <\/strong>percent increase over last quarter, while its total number of monthly active users rose 5 percent to 602 million. The announcement came as part of its fourth quarter earnings release, which covers the three months ending on December 31st. Over the course of 2023, Spotify\u2019s userbase and premium subscribers grew by 113 and 31 million, respectively, setting records for the company.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The results cap off a year that included both cost-cutting and price increases for the world\u2019s largest audio streaming service. Last December the company announced it would be laying off 17 percent of its workforce<\/a>, or over 1,500 people, in what was its third<\/a> major<\/a> round of layoffs in 2023. Spotify also increased its prices in the US<\/a> and other markets around the world earlier in to year, which notably saw the monthly cost of a Premium subscription rise to $10.99 after over a decade costing $9.99.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite the drive towards efficiency, Spotify posted a quarterly loss of \u20ac70 million (around $75 million), down from a profit of \u20ac65 million ($70 million) in Q3. But this was an improvement over the \u20ac270 million loss (around $290 million) it posted in the same quarter the previous year. Its net loss stood at \u20ac532 million (around $570 million) for the whole of 2023. But average revenue per user was up, and now sits at \u20ac4.60, versus \u20ac4.34 last quarter and \u20ac4.55 in the same quarter a year earlier. Advertising revenue also rose to \u20ac501 million (around $538 million) in the quarter, which the Wall Street Journal <\/em>notes<\/a> is an all-time high.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Beyond music, Apple\u2019s podcasting and audiobook initiatives continue, although the company has adjusted its approaches in recent months. It recently renewed its deal with Joe Rogan<\/a>, though has said it\u2019ll now allow his podcast to be distributed via other podcasting platforms. And on the audiobooks side, the streaming service is now allowing Premium subscribers to access 15 hours of audiobook content<\/a> as part of their subscription, after previously selling it exclusively as an on-demand extra.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Today\u2019s release once again omits any mention of when Spotify\u2019s lossless streaming option could launch. The company announced the feature, which at the time was branded \u201cHiFi\u201d almost three years ago in February 2021<\/a>, but it\u2019s still yet to announce an official launch date. As of last March it was still coming \u201cat some point<\/a>\u201d and more recent reports suggest it may now be branded \u201cSupremium<\/a>,\u201d but it\u2019s not clear exactly when it might be available publicly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n