Spotify Says It Is Now Top US Podcast Platform Ahead Of Apple

Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) CEO Daniel Ek said at the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call Wednesday that the streaming service had become the top podcast platform in the United States.
What Happened: Ek tracked Spotify’s podcast catalog growth from 185,000 to 3.2 million over the last three years, a growth of 1,500%.

“Despite the fact that we're still a relatively new entrants, previous data indicated we have become the top platform for podcast consumption in 60-plus countries,” said Ek.

“And now, according to Edison research and our own internal sources, we recently became the number one podcast platform US listeners use the most.”

The Stockholm-based company did not give a breakdown of its podcast listener numbers, but shared its monthly active users, which it said grew 19% year-over-year to reach 381 million in the quarter, from 365 million in the same period last year, reported TechCrunch.

Spotify premium subscribers reportedly rose 19% to reach 172 million; last year that number was 165 million.

Why It Matters: Over 116 million Americans over the age of 12 listen to podcasts monthly, this is 41% of the U.S. population, as per an earlier report.

Apple podcasts' share was 24% in 2021 and has declined from 34% in 2018, as per the report. Ek noted on Spotify’s earnings call that the U.S. represents the largest podcast market globally.

On Wednesday, Spotify reported a loss per share of $0.48, missing an estimate of $0.22 loss per share, for the third quarter.

Apart from Apple Music, Spotify also competes with Amazon Music Unlimited from Jeff Bezos-founded Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Price Action: On Wednesday, Spotify shares closed 8.3% higher at $273.13 in the regular session. The shares were largely unchanged in the after-hours trading. On the same day, Apple shares closed almost 0.3% lower in the regular session at $148.85 and gained 0.15% in the after-hours session.

Read Next: Why A Podcast Is A 'Hobby' For Apple And 'Career' For Spotify