Spotify Losing Big Money After Suspending Premium Memberships In Russia

Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming sites ever. The music streaming giant has millions of users across the globe. It appears Spotify will experience a massive drop in premium subscribers amid the Russian-Ukraine war.

Variety reported, Spotify has suspended premium service in Russia after the country invaded Ukraine. The audio streaming powerhouse expects due to this decision they will lose about 1.5 million paying customers in the first quarter of 2022.

Spotify CFO Paul Vogel, who spoke at Morgan Stanley’s 2022 Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Wednesday shared details about the company’s decision. According to a Spotify spokesperson, the loss of its business in Russia is not material as the country represents less than 1% of total revenue.

Vogel also hinted that due to the recent controversy over podcaster Joe Rogan, which has spurred calls to boycott the streamer, but Vogel didn’t identify Rogan by name. Vogel added, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Spotify was trending ahead of its Q1 guidance of adding a net 8 million total users, including 3 million paying customers. 

Vogel further said, “Going through a little bit of controversy, there’s always going to be some impact.” Meanwhile, the Spotify also has stopped accepting ads in Russia and is no longer collecting premium subscription revenue. However, the company is not disabling access to the service within Russia “to allow for the global flow of information,”

What’s your take on this story? Sound off in the comments.