Paris-headquartered music streaming service Deezer has published its financial results and subscriber numbers for Q1 2024 (ended March, 31, 2024).
The company’s consolidated revenues reached €132.5 million in Q1 2024, up 14.2% YoY at constant currency.
That revenue figure converts to USD $144 million at the average quarterly exchange rate published by the European Central Bank.
Meanwhile, the company’s subscriber base reached 10.5 million in Q1, versus 9.3 million in Q1 2023, a 12.8% increase.
Deezer splits its revenues into three segments on its balance sheet, ‘Partnerships‘; ‘Direct‘ and ‘Other.’
The company’s Partnerships revenue amounted to €43.3 million ($47.01m) in Q1 2024, up 37.6% YoY at constant currency.
The company said that its revenue growth in Q1 reflected “the continued ramp-up” of its recent Partnerships (including RTL+, Sonos & Mercado Libre), which it added are “in line with the Group’s strategy to focus its efforts on attractive and large markets”.
Partnerships accounted for 32.7% of Deezer’s total revenues in the quarter.
Deezer’s Direct revenues reached €86 million ($93.37m) in Q1 2024, up 5% YoY at constant currency.
Deezer said that its growth in this segment was driven by:
- A “new wave of price increases, launched in Q4 2023, now applied to more than 75% of the subscriber’s base;
- “The improved geographic mix with the strategic refocus of the Direct business on selected key markets leading to the continued expansion of the subscriber base in France (+3.6%) and the slowdown in Rest of World subscriber base at (11.0)%;
- “The implementation of a more selective strategy in Direct to drive premium account subscriptions by reducing trials and promotions.
Deezer reported that its ‘Other’ revenue, consisting mainly of “advertising and ancillary” revenue, totaled €3.2 million ($3.47m) in Q1 2024, up 23.3% YoY at constant currency.
Deezer generated the majority of its revenues in its home market of France, where it reached €76.1 million ($82.62m) in Q1, up 8.5% YoY at constant currency.
Deezer counted 5.5 million ‘Direct’ subscribers in Q1, down 1.8% YoY versus 5.6 million Q1 2023.
The company’s subscribers via Partnerships reached 4.9 million in Q1, up 35.4% YoY versus 3.6 million in Q1 2023 (see below).
Deezer’s ARPU (Average Revenue per Paying User) in Q1 stood at €5.1 for its Direct subscribers, up 6.4% YoY.
In its announcement to investors on Monday (April 29), Deezer noted that it “delivered a second consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, giving the Group confidence in its ability to achieve its 10% revenue growth target in 2024, on the back of increasing contribution of Partnerships, and the continued expansion of Direct in France with the impact of the new price increases which are being gradually rolled out to the entire Direct subscriber base”.
The company added: “Given the strong profitability improvements achieved in 2023 and the expected revenue and profitability momentum in 2024, Deezer confirms its ambition to achieve positive free cash flow in 2024 and positive adjusted EBITDA in 2025”.
Stu Bergen, interim CEO of Deezer from April 1, commented: “Deezer’s performance in the first quarter of 2024 highlights clear momentum and evidence that our strategy is on point.
“By delivering unique experiences to music fans worldwide, Deezer delivers value and innovation to all our stakeholders.”
Stu Bergen, Deezer
“By delivering unique experiences to music fans worldwide, Deezer delivers value and innovation to all our stakeholders.
“We continue to be a catalyst for positive change, challenging the status quo in remuneration and pricing, while maintaining our unwavering support for artists and songwriters.”
Elsewhere, Deezer highlighted its artist-centric agreement with Merlin, announced in March, and its “improved catalog quality” following the removal of over 26+ million tracks since October 2023 (including non-artist content, noise, and duplicates) by using Deezer’s advanced proprietary technology.
Deezer said that its team “has trained advanced models capable of recognizing and distinguishing specific types of content such as noise and functional music”.
The company added: “As part of its artist-centric model, Deezer is dedicated to enforcing a stricter provider policy to ensure exceptional quality content and elevate the user experience.”
Deezer first launched its Universal Music Group-approved artist-centric payment system in September 2023.
A few months later, Warner Music Group signed up for Deezer’s artist-centric model in France.Music Business Worldwide
