(Stockholm) The world’s number one audio platform Spotify saw a record jump in active users to 551 million at the end of the second quarter, thanks in part to renewed popularity among “Gen Z”, the Swedish group announced on Tuesday.

This performance exceeds the expectations of analysts who expected a total number of 529.9 million active users.

The 27% year-over-year increase is partly explained by the surge in new listeners from “Gen Z”, that part of the population born between 1997 and 2010, Spotify claims.

Driven by this increase in the number of subscribers, the turnover of the Swedish flagship jumped 11% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, to 3.2 billion euros, in line with expectations.

Paid subscribers also increased by 17%, to 220 million users, above expectations (217 million).

Following in the footsteps of its competitors such as Apple and Amazon, the group announced on Monday that it was increasing the price of its premium subscriptions in several markets around the world.

The group nevertheless saw its operating loss widen considerably from April to June, to -247 million euros, due, among other things, to restructuring costs and social charges.

In the second quarter of 2022, it had lost 194 million euros.

In June, the music streaming leader announced the cut of 200 positions in its podcast activities. The Swedish platform has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the podcast in recent years.

But the profitability of this niche has yet to be demonstrated, according to analysts.

Despite its market-leading position, the company has never posted a one-year net profit and only occasionally makes quarterly profits.