Upside/Downside: As Spotify’s ARPU Drops, Subscriber ‘Lifetime Value’ Has Grown

At Spotify, “Our continued focus is on reaching more listeners, as ultimately this will translate into long-term value for our investors,” said CEO Daniel Ek on an October 2020 earnings call.
The company’s strategy has always been that growth comes before everything else — to the occasional frustration of creators, who are sometimes more interested in today’s royalty payouts than tomorrow’s valuation. On the same call, CFO Paul Vogel said, “For us, it ha