Spotify Technology SA (SPOT) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Krista, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Spotify First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Thank you.

謝謝你的支持。我叫克里斯塔，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線生。此時此刻，我歡迎大家參加 Spotify 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）謝謝。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Bryan Goldberg, Head of Investor Relations at Spotify. Bryan, you may begin.

我現在想將會議交給 Spotify 投資者關係主管 Bryan Goldberg。布萊恩，你可以開始了。

Thanks, operator, and welcome to Spotify's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Joining us today will be Daniel Ek, our CEO; and Ben Kung, our Interim CFO and VP of Financial Planning and Analysis.

感謝營運商，歡迎參加 Spotify 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天加入我們的是我們的執行長 Daniel Ek；以及我們的臨時財務長兼財務規劃與分析副總裁 Ben Kung。

We'll start with opening comments from Daniel and Ben, and afterwards, we'll be happy to answer your questions. Questions can be submitted by going to slido.com, s-l-i-d-o.com, and using the code #SpotifyEarningsQ124. Analysts can ask questions directly into Slido, and all participants can then vote on the questions they find the most relevant. If, for some reason, you don't have access to Slido, you can e-mail Investor Relations at ir@spotify.com, and we'll add in your question.

我們將從 Daniel 和 Ben 的開場評論開始，然後我們將很樂意回答您的問題。可以透過造訪 slido.com、s-l-i-d-o.com 並使用代碼 #SpotifyEarningsQ124 提交問題。分析師可以直接向 Slido 提問，然後所有參與者都可以對他們認為最相關的問題進行投票。如果您因某種原因無法造訪 Slido，您可以向投資者關係部發送電子郵件至 ir@spotify.com，我們將添加您的問題。

Before we begin, let me quickly cover the safe harbor. During this call, we'll be making certain forward-looking statements, including projections or estimates about the future performance of the company. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could materially differ because of factors discussed on today's call, in our shareholder deck and in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

在我們開始之前，讓我快速介紹一下安全港。在這次電話會議中，我們將做出某些前瞻性陳述，包括對公司未來表現的預測或估計。這些陳述基於當前的預期和假設，存在風險和不確定性。由於今天的電話會議、我們的股東資料以及向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中討論的因素，實際結果可能會存在重大差異。

During this call, we'll also refer to certain non-IFRS financial measures. Reconciliations between our IFRS and non-IFRS financial measures can be found in our shareholder deck, in the Financials section of our Investor Relations website and also furnished today on Form 6-K.

在本次電話會議中，我們也將提及某些非 IFRS 財務指標。我們的 IFRS 和非 IFRS 財務指標之間的調節可以在我們的股東資料、投資者關係網站的財務部分找到，並且今天也在表格 6-K 中提供。

And with that, I'll turn it over to Daniel.

有了這個，我會把它交給丹尼爾。

All right. Thanks, Bryan, and hey, everyone, and thanks for joining us. I hope you've had the opportunity to review our shareholder deck.

好的。謝謝布萊恩，嘿，大家，謝謝您加入我們。我希望您有機會查看我們的股東資料。

Overall, this was a solid quarter driven by strong revenue growth, expanding gross margin and the largest operating income we've ever posted. Our performance speaks to what I covered last quarter when I described our outlook for 2024: a year of solid progress with monetization and resourcefulness taking center stage.

總體而言，這是一個穩健的季度，得益於強勁的收入成長、毛利率的擴大和我們公佈的最大營業收入。我們的業績反映了我上個季度在描述 2024 年展望時所闡述的內容：這是以貨幣化和足智多謀為中心、取得紮實進展的一年。

But let's discuss our MAU growth this quarter. We missed our target due to a bit of a slowdown at the start of the year. So I want to directly address the 3 main factors contributing to this outcome and how we're adjusting over the next few quarters.

但讓我們來討論一下本季的每月活躍用戶成長情況。由於年初的經濟放緩，我們未能實現目標。因此，我想直接談談導致這一結果的 3 個主要因素，以及我們在接下來的幾個季度如何進行調整。

First, the MAU and subscription growth we achieved in 2023 not only surpassed our most ambitious forecast but also set a record for the most significant user growth in Spotify's history. While we anticipate continued robust growth going forward, 2023 was a truly standout year and should not be a base on expectation for every subsequent year.

首先，我們在 2023 年實現的每月活躍用戶數和訂閱量成長不僅超過了我們最雄心勃勃的預測，還創下了 Spotify 歷史上最顯著的用戶成長記錄。雖然我們預計未來將持續強勁成長，但 2023 年確實是出色的一年，不應以此為基礎對隨後的每一年進行預期。

Another significant challenge was the impact of our December workforce reduction. Although there's no question that it was the right strategic decision, it did disrupt our day-to-day operations more than we anticipate. It took us some time to find our footing, but more than 4 months into this transition, I think we're back on track. I expect to continue improving our execution throughout the year, getting us to an even better place than we've ever been.

另一個重大挑戰是我們 12 月裁員的影響。儘管毫無疑問這是正確的策略決策，但它對我們日常營運的干擾確實超出了我們的預期。我們花了一些時間才站穩腳跟，但經過 4 個多月的過渡，我認為我們已經回到了正軌。我希望在這一年中繼續提高我們的執行力，讓我們達到比以往更好的水平。

The third issue is related to marketing spend. In hindsight, we probably pulled back too significantly throughout 2023. And as such, we're already correcting this as we move into Q2. To be clear, we're not going to go back to what we were doing before. We still continue to expect improving profitability over the course of this year and into the next. Any new funds are being directed towards acquiring and reactivating high-value users who enhance our base with their deeper engagement and loyalty. We expect to see good improvements in the second half of this year and are confident in our ability to deliver top-of-the-funnel growth at consistently high levels, maintaining our proven track record.

第三個問題與行銷支出有關。事後看來，我們可能在 2023 年全年大幅回落。需要明確的是，我們不會回到之前所做的事情。我們仍然預計今年和明年的盈利能力會有所改善。任何新資金都將用於獲取和重新激活高價值用戶，這些用戶透過更深入的參與和忠誠度來增強我們的基礎。我們預計今年下半年將出現良好的改善，並對我們有能力實現持續高水準的漏斗頂部成長充滿信心，並保持我們良好的業績記錄。

So how do we expect this to impact our business in the coming months? Well, at Spotify, we don't rely on a single growth strategy but, rather, adjust our focus based on what the business demands. For instance, 2 years ago, we really concentrated on our user growth. Then last year, we restructured our costs, and now we're focused on accelerating revenue while improving our bottom line. Next year, our focus may return to top-of-the-funnel user growth, but in the near term, monetization remains our top priority.

那麼，我們預計這將如何影響我們未來幾個月的業務？在 Spotify，我們不依賴單一的成長策略，而是根據業務需求調整我們的重點。例如，兩年前，我們真正專注於用戶成長。去年，我們重組了成本，現在我們專注於加速收入成長，同時提高利潤。明年，我們的重點可能會回到漏斗頂部的用戶成長，但在短期內，貨幣化仍然是我們的首要任務。

Bottom line, we are really good at pivoting our attention when it makes sense. When I say pivot, I really mean making tweaks that will get us to an even better outcome. And because of our ability to do this, I have no doubt that we will be able to recapture top-of-the-funnel growth over time as it becomes more of a focus area for the team.

最重要的是，我們非常善於在有意義的時候轉移我們的注意力。當我說轉向時，我真正的意思是進行調整，以使我們獲得更好的結果。由於我們有能力做到這一點，我毫不懷疑，隨著時間的推移，我們將能夠重新獲得漏斗頂部的成長，因為它越來越成為團隊的重點領域。

And before I turn it over to Ben to provide more detail into the numbers, I also want to mention our new CFO, Christian Luiga. I've worked with Christian directly, and I can tell you firsthand that he's a terrific leader and excels at driving both operational efficiency and growth. He has an impressive track record, and his expertise will be incredibly valuable as we continue on this path. I look forward to you getting to know him when he joins later this year, but I also want to extend a huge thank you to Ben for stepping into the role of Interim CFO and helping to ensure a smooth transition.

在我交給 Ben 提供更多數據細節之前，我還想提一下我們的新任財務長 Christian Luiga。我直接與克里斯蒂安共事過，我可以直接告訴你，他是一位出色的領導者，擅長推動營運效率和成長。他擁有令人印象深刻的業績記錄，當我們繼續沿著這條道路前進時，他的專業知識將非常有價值。我期待您在今年稍後加入時認識他，但我也想對 Ben 擔任臨時財務長表示衷心的感謝，並幫助確保順利過渡。

Thanks, Daniel, and thanks, everyone, for joining us. I'd like to add a bit more color on the quarter and then touch upon the broader performance of the business and our outlook.

謝謝丹尼爾，也謝謝大家加入我們。我想為該季度增添更多色彩，然後談談更廣泛的業務表現和我們的前景。

Q1 marked a strong start to the year, led by accelerating revenue growth and record-setting profitability as our focus on monetization and efficiency have begun flowing through our financials. Although MAU variability was greater than expected, our funnel continued to expand at a reasonably healthy rate within the context of the last few years as total MAU grew 19% year-on-year in Q1, coming off of 2023's record performance, while quarter-on-quarter net additions of 13 million were in line with 2021 and 2022 levels.

第一季標誌著今年的強勁開局，在營收成長加速和創紀錄的獲利能力的帶動下，我們對貨幣化和效率的關注已開始貫穿我們的財務。儘管 MAU 波動性大於預期，但我們的管道在過去幾年的背景下繼續以相當健康的速度擴張，第一季 MAU 總額同比增長 19%，較 2023 年創紀錄的表現有所回升，而季度 -季度淨增1300 萬，與2021 年和2022 年的水準一致。

On the subscription front, the business grew in line with our guidance, adding 3 million net new subscribers. Total revenue grew 21% year-on-year on a constant currency basis to EUR 3.6 billion, representing 100 basis points of growth improvement relative to Q4. Notably, our recent price increases and improving product mix shift accelerated Premium ARPU growth to 7% year-on-year on a currency-neutral basis while our advertising business saw improved currency-neutral growth of 19% year-on-year versus Q4's 17%.

在訂閱方面，該業務的成長與我們的指導一致，淨增加了 300 萬新訂閱者。以固定匯率計算，總營收年增 21%，達到 36 億歐元，較第四季成長 100 個基點。值得注意的是，我們最近的價格上漲和產品組合轉變的改善使高級ARPU 在貨幣中性的基礎上同比增長至7%，而我們的廣告業務在貨幣中性的基礎上同比增長19%，而第四季為17% %。

Moving to profitability. We are very encouraged by the business' early-stage inflection towards the targets we laid out for you at our 2022 Investor Day. Gross margin came in at a Q1 record of 27.6%, surpassing guidance by 121 basis points and resulting in our first ever EUR 1 billion-plus gross profit quarter. As you're well aware, there are many components that can move our gross margin, and Q1 performance was primarily driven by content cost favorability among other smaller movements.

轉向盈利。我們對公司在 2022 年投資者日為您設定的目標的早期轉變感到非常鼓舞。第一季毛利率達到 27.6% 的歷史新高，超出指導值 121 個基點，使我們的季度毛利首次超過 10 億歐元。如您所知，有許多因素可以提高我們的毛利率，而第一季的業績主要是由內容成本優惠以及其他較小的變動所推動的。

Operating income of EUR 168 million also set a new record, aided by gross profit strength and lower operating expenses. Operating income was impacted by EUR 82 million in social charge accruals, which were EUR 74 million higher than our forecast, driven by share price appreciation during the quarter. As a reminder, we don't forecast share price movements in our outlook for the business since they are outside of our control.

由於毛利強勁和營運費用下降，1.68 億歐元的營運收入也創下了新紀錄。營業收入受到 8,200 萬歐元應計社會費用的影響，由於本季股價上漲，該金額比我們的預測高出 7,400 萬歐元。提醒一下，我們不會在業務前景中預測股價變動，因為它們超出了我們的控制範圍。

Finally, free cash flow was a positive EUR 207 million in the quarter. Performance here reflected the expected reversal of some of the timing benefits we saw in Q4. We remain confident that we've entered a new chapter in terms of expanding the business' cash generation potential.

最後，本季自由現金流為正 2.07 億歐元。這裡的表現反映了我們在第四季看到的一些時機優勢的預期逆轉。我們仍然相信，在擴大業務現金產生潛力方面，我們已經進入了新的篇章。

Looking ahead to second quarter guidance, we are forecasting 631 million MAU, an increase of 16 million from Q1; and 245 million subscribers, an increase of 6 million over Q1. We are also forecasting a currency-neutral revenue growth rate of over 22% year-on-year, pointing to EUR 3.8 billion in total revenue. We also anticipate a gross margin of 28.1% and an operating income of EUR 250 million.

展望第二季指引，我們預期每月活躍用戶數將達到 6.31 億，比第一季增加 1,600 萬；訂閱用戶數為 2.45 億，較第一季增加 600 萬。我們也預測，剔除貨幣因素後，營收年增率將超過 22%，總營收將達到 38 億歐元。我們也預期毛利率為 28.1%，營業收入為 2.5 億歐元。

In terms of our user growth outlook, as Daniel mentioned, we've made some adjustments to further optimize our marketing activity and expect improving MAU net add levels over the course of the year. With respect to price increases and subscriber growth in Q2, our data shows that historical price increases have had minimal impacts on growth. However, much like Q3 of last year, we are baking in some modest levels of churn into our Q2 outlook.

就我們的用戶成長前景而言，正如丹尼爾所提到的，我們已經做出了一些調整，以進一步優化我們的行銷活動，並預計今年的月活躍用戶淨增加水準會有所提高。關於第二季的價格上漲和用戶成長，我們的數據顯示歷史價格上漲對成長的影響很小。然而，就像去年第三季一樣，我們對第二季的前景進行了一定程度的調整。

Additionally, we anticipate another quarter of sequential improvement in ARPU growth on a constant currency basis in Q2, similar to the 200 basis points of improvement we saw from Q4 to Q1. From a profitability standpoint, we continue to expect a sequential ramp in gross margin through the balance of 2024 as well as improvements in operating income and operating margin.

此外，我們預計第二季以固定匯率計算的 ARPU 成長將再出現一個季度的環比改善，類似於我們從第四季到第一季看到的 200 個基點的改善。從獲利能力的角度來看，我們繼續預期 2024 年毛利率將連續上升，營業收入和營業利潤率也會有所改善。

With that, I'll hand things back to Bryan for Q&A.

這樣，我會將事情交還給布萊恩問答。

All right. Thanks, Ben. And again, if you've got any questions, please go to slido.com, #SpotifyEarningsQ124. We'll be reading the questions in the order they appear in the queue with respect to how people vote up their preference for questions.

好的。謝謝，本。再次強調，如果您有任何疑問，請造訪 slido.com，#SpotifyEarningsQ124。我們將按照問題在隊列中出現的順序閱讀問題，以了解人們如何投票選出他們對問題的偏好。

And our first question today is going to come from Agnieszka Pustula on music profitability. Can you please give us some detail on the improved music profitability in the quarter? Which Marketplace product was the key driver behind better margins? And how much of extra cost did Audiobooks add?

我們今天的第一個問題將來自 Agnieszka Pustula 關於音樂盈利能力的問題。您能否向我們詳細介紹一下本季音樂獲利能力的改善情況？哪種 Marketplace 產品是更高利潤背後的關鍵驅動力？有聲書增加了多少額外成本？

All right. I'll start, and maybe, Ben, you can add to the answer.

好的。我會開始，也許，本，你可以補充答案。

So I think maybe to up-level the answer a little bit and talk about gross margin in general, this was a real outperformance on many levels, and there were many things that contributed to that. So you mentioned Marketplace. Marketplace did really well in the quarter, and it continues to have great position on really all of our Marketplace products growing nicely. So I feel really good about Marketplace, and that was a big contributor.

因此，我認為也許可以稍微提高一下答案，並談談整體毛利率，這在許多層面上都是真正的出色表現，並且有很多因素促成了這一點。所以你提到了市場。 Marketplace 在本季表現非常好，並且在我們所有的 Marketplace 產品中繼續佔據重要地位，並且成長良好。所以我對 Marketplace 感覺非常好，這是一個很大的貢獻者。

In addition to that, obviously, on the gross margin side, we saw lower nonmusic costs. Some of that was aided by both our Audiobooks side but also on the podcasting side. Last year, if you remember, that was a bit of a drag on our gross margin. And this year, we expect profitability for the podcast segment. So that's adding to that.

除此之外，顯然，在毛利率方面，我們看到非音樂成本較低。其中一些工作得到了我們有聲書方面和播客方面的幫助。如果你還記得的話，去年這對我們的毛利率造成了一些拖累。今年，我們預計播客領域將實現盈利。所以這就是補充。

Also, you saw lower streaming delivery cost and overall cost and sort of other cost of revenues due to some of that sort of resourcefulness and that culture. So I think from my side, it is really a new Spotify you're seeing where we are being relentlessly and resourceful on all of our costs and in driving improvements in efficiency on all our different drivers that are adding up to this gross margin number.

此外，由於某種足智多謀和文化，您還看到串流媒體傳輸成本和總體成本以及其他收入成本降低。所以我認為，從我的角度來看，這確實是一個新的Spotify，我們在所有成本上堅持不懈、足智多謀，並推動所有不同驅動因素的效率提高，這些驅動因素加起來構成了這個毛利率數字。

Yes. I think you covered it well, Daniel. I think I would just add that, that resourcefulness that you highlight is spanning a diversified set of levers that are all adding up to this narrative. So I think it's really sort of firing across many cylinders for our business.

是的。我認為你講得很好，丹尼爾。我想我只想補充一點，你強調的足智多謀跨越了一系列多樣化的槓桿，所有這些槓桿都加到了這個敘述中。所以我認為這對我們的業務來說確實是多方面的推動。

All right. Our second question is also going to come from Agnieszka, this time on royalties. For the bundled music and audiobook plans, are royalty payments for each category based on a fixed allocation of relative value of music versus audiobook plans? Or is it based on the actual share of consumption, i.e., would increased audiobook consumption reduce music royalty?

好的。我們的第二個問題也來自阿格涅斯卡，這次是關於版稅。對於捆綁的音樂和有聲讀物計劃，每個類別的版稅支付是否基於音樂與有聲讀物計劃的相對價值的固定分配？還是基於實際的消費份額，即有聲書消費的增加是否會減少音樂版稅？

Thanks. I'll take this one. I think this is a great question. We won't be able to get into the specifics here, but I think you are touching upon a very important point that I'll try to up-level towards.

謝謝。我要這個。我認為這是一個很好的問題。我們無法在這裡討論具體細節，但我認為您觸及了一個非常重要的觀點，我將盡力提高這一點。

It's a fairly complex machine across our content types, and we do have a concept that I'll refer to as shifting profit pools now. So across our content types, we have all types of cost models. We've got variable ones, so that could be anything from revenue shares, per user models, per hour models. We also have fixed cost models. It's a fairly complex machine, and the concept of bundling things together allows us to tap into a strength of ours, which is leaning into this complexity across profit pools and managing it efficiently as we look to meet and serve customer demands where we see it. So I think it's as simple as that.

對於我們的內容類型來說，這是一個相當複雜的機器，我們確實有一個概念，我現在稱之為轉移利潤池。因此，在我們的內容類型中，我們擁有各種類型的成本模型。我們有可變的模型，因此可以是收入分成、每個使用者模型、每小時模型等任何內容。我們還有固定成本模型。這是一台相當複雜的機器，將事物​​捆綁在一起的概念使我們能夠發揮我們的優勢，即在利潤池中傾斜這種複雜性，並在我們希望滿足和服務於我們所看到的客戶需求時對其進行有效管理。所以我認為事情就這麼簡單。

All right. Our next question is going to come from Justin Patterson on capital allocation. Daniel, the balance sheet is in a solid position, and you could be approaching over EUR 2 billion in free cash flow in 2025. Given this, how will you and incoming CFO, Christian Luiga, look to reevaluate your capital allocation policy?

好的。我們的下一個問題將來自賈斯汀·帕特森（Justin Patterson）關於資本配置的問題。 Daniel，資產負債表狀況良好，到 2025 年您的自由現金流可能會接近 20 億歐元。

Yes. I do appreciate the question, Justin, and it's certainly a new type of problem for Spotify to be dealing with. I think it's a little bit too early to draw any sort of real decisions yet on our side. And obviously, Christian hasn't started yet, but this will be on this table to look at and to work with myself and the Board around what we do.

是的。賈斯汀，我確實很欣賞這個問題，這無疑是 Spotify 需要處理的新型問題。我認為現在就我們做出任何真正的決定還為時過早。顯然，克里斯蒂安還沒有開始，但這將放在這張桌子上，以便我和董事會圍繞我們所做的事情進行審視和合作。

I do want to note to investors, though, that we do have the upcoming convert. So that's certainly one use of capital we could use into the future. But we have many, many tools at our disposal. So we look forward to discussing those as the year progresses.

不過，我確實想向投資人指出，我們確實即將進行轉換。因此，這肯定是我們未來可以利用的資本用途之一。但我們有很多很多可以使用的工具。因此，我們期待著隨著時間的推移討論這些問題。

All right. And a follow-up question from Justin, this time on product. Daniel, you appear to be shipping product at a faster rate. How do you view this as sustaining the 20% plus revenue growth rate over time? And do you believe the improved product capabilities can make you less reliant on marketing over time?

好的。賈斯汀提出了後續問題，這次是關於產品的。丹尼爾，你的產品運送速度似乎更快了。您如何看待隨著時間的推移保持 20% 以上的收入成長率？您是否相信隨著時間的推移，產品功能的改進可以讓您減少對行銷的依賴？

Yes. I mean you're exactly right, Justin. We are focused on shipping more product and better product for consumers. And the way you should think about this as investors is the better we can improve the product, the more people engage with our product and the more value we ultimately create. And the more value we create, the more ability we will have to then capture some of that value by price increases.

是的。我的意思是你是完全正確的，賈斯汀。我們專注於為消費者提供更多、更好的產品。身為投資者，你應該這樣思考：我們改進產品的能力越好，參與我們產品的人就越多，我們最終創造的價值就越大。我們創造的價值越多，我們就越有能力透過價格上漲來獲取部分價值。

So I've mentioned this concept before, but we're really, really focused, as a company, on this value-to-price ratio. And the way we're thinking about it is we're constantly trying to improve the value we offer to consumers. And every now and then, we look at that sort of value-to-price ratio and try to capture some of that value through price increases. And when we do, not only Spotify benefits, but the entire creative ecosystem benefits, too. And that's obviously everything from artists and songwriters to authors and podcasters now that are part of this strength or this bundle, so to speak, where everyone sort of all -- the rising tide helps all boats, so to speak.

所以我之前已經提到過這個概念，但作為一家公司，我們真的非常關注這個性價比。我們的想法是，我們不斷努力提高為消費者提供的價值。我們不時關注這種價值價格比，並嘗試透過價格上漲來獲取部分價值。當我們這樣做時，不僅 Spotify 受益，整個創意生態系統也會受益。顯然，從藝術家和詞曲作者到作家和播客，現在都是這種力量或這個捆綁的一部分，可以說，每個人都可以說——上漲的浪潮幫助所有的船。

So long term, you should definitely say that the better the product is, of course, the less reliant we will be on marketing because the more viral the product will be and, of course, the less we have to reactivate consumers to come back to the service as well.

從長遠來看，你絕對應該說，產品越好，我們對行銷的依賴就越少，因為產品的病毒性越大，當然，我們就越不需要重新啟動消費者服務也很好。

All right. Our next question is going to come from Rich Greenfield on Audiobooks. There's been speculation that you will launch a premium tier that excludes Audiobooks for $10.99 while the Audiobooks goes to $11.99. I'm curious if that's needed to improve the cost structure of your audiobook offering. Could you help us understand the margin profile of the Audiobooks business?

好的。我們的下一個問題將來自有聲書的 Rich Greenfield。有人猜測，你們將推出一個不包括有聲讀物的高級套餐，價格為 10.99 美元，而有聲書的價格為 11.99 美元。我很好奇是否需要這樣做來改善有聲書的成本結構。您能幫助我們了解有聲書業務的利潤狀況嗎？

Yes, I'll start here, and maybe Ben can add.

是的，我將從這裡開始，也許本來可以補充。

So Rich, I think my sort of last answer kind of captures this. What we're focused on at Spotify is really we're trying to improve as much value as we can. And over the course now of the last 2 years, we've added a tremendous amount of value. We've added, of course, more and more podcasts than ever before, millions of podcasts now. We have a library of over 100 million music tracks now onto the service. We've added Audiobooks in many markets. More than 25% of our base are now using that.

所以里奇，我想我最後的答案有點抓住了這一點。 Spotify 真正關注的是我們正在盡可能地努力提高價值。在過去的兩年裡，我們增加了巨大的價值。當然，我們添加的播客比以往任何時候都多，現在有數百萬個播客。我們的服務現已擁有超過 1 億首音樂曲目的庫。我們在許多市場添加了有聲書。我們超過 25% 的基地現在正在使用它。

And two, I think I saw something online where you were talking about whether or not people were engaging of that 25% of users. While we -- in the first 14 days of new users using Audiobooks, we see over 2.5 hours of incremental usage on the audiobook side. So we're seeing some great results. And of course, we've added video to both on the music side but also on the podcasting side. So we're adding a tremendous amount of value over the course really of this last 2 years on the service and more and more product features like AI DJ, daylist and so on.

第二，我想我在網路上看到了一些內容，你在談論人們是否吸引了那 25% 的用戶。在新用戶使用有聲書的前 14 天內，我們看到有聲書的增量使用時間超過 2.5 小時。所以我們看到了一些很好的結果。當然，我們在音樂方面和播客方面都添加了影片。因此，在過去的兩年裡，我們在服務和越來越多的產品功能（如 AI DJ、日列表等）上增加了巨大的價值。

So we're adding more value across the base, and we're focused on capturing some of that value we've been adding over the past 2 years by increasing the price. And obviously, you're mentioning the U.S. numbers, but in many territories, we have been doing even more price increases. Sometimes that's due to local dynamics. Sometimes that's also due to inflation and other things that are contributing, too.

因此，我們正在整個基礎上增加更多價值，並且我們專注於獲取過去兩年透過提高價格所增加的一些價值。顯然，你提到的是美國的數字，但在許多地區，我們一直在進行更多的價格上漲。有時這是由於當地的動態造成的。有時這也是由於通貨膨脹和其他因素造成的。

So it's really a mix of many different things that we're considering as we're raising prices. But the main one, if I want to focus on one, it's really around value-to-price ratio and keeping that very healthy where we're obviously offering a lot more value to consumers than what we're capturing through the price increases. But I feel really good about us doing that. And that's also why you saw us having a healthy guidance on the subs number too because we think consumers like what they're seeing from Spotify, they love the offering, and they feel that the value that they're getting is more than fair.

因此，在提高價格時，我們實際上考慮了許多不同的因素。但最主要的是，如果我想專注於一個，那就是性價比，並保持這種健康狀況，顯然我們為消費者提供的價值比我們透過價格上漲獲得的價值要多得多。但我對我們這樣做感到非常高興。這也是為什麼我們對訂閱人數也有一個健康的指導，因為我們認為消費者喜歡他們從 Spotify 看到的東西，他們喜歡這個產品，他們覺得他們獲得的價值是非常公平的。

All right. Our next question is going to come from Doug Anmuth on MAU. Can you talk more about the greater MAU variability you saw in the first quarter? Was moderated marketing activity as expected? Or were campaigns less effective at the top of the funnel? And does organizational change just reflect increased discipline and higher LTV to SAC thresholds? Where is that ratio versus historical levels?

好的。我們的下一個問題將來自 MAU 的 Doug Anmuth。您能否詳細談談您在第一季看到的較大的月活躍用戶數變化？適度的行銷活動是否符合預期？或者行銷活動在漏斗頂部的效果是否較差？組織變革是否僅僅反映了紀律的加強和 SAC 的 LTV 門檻的提高？與歷史水準相比，這個比率在哪裡？

Absolutely. I'll take that. And I'll start with it, and maybe Daniel, you could add if you have any other thoughts.

絕對地。我會接受的。我將從它開始，也許丹尼爾，如果您有任何其他想法，您可以添加。

I think it's important to first start my answer here with just a bit of look-back context. So we started honing in on marketing efficiency as we entered 2023, so more than a year ago. And when we began pulling back on spend last year, we had other tailwinds working for us that more than counteracted this and drove the record year for us. So these included product changes and innovations that we made as well as benefits on the competition side, with certain competitors sort of exiting different markets. We also had a super strong end-of-year effort with activities such as Wrapped and our campaigns around the holiday and the New Year period. So all these things sort of contributed to what otherwise was observed as the variability on Q1.

我認為先以一些回顧背景來開始我的回答很重要。因此，進入 2023 年（一年多前），我們就開始磨練行銷效率。當我們去年開始縮減支出時，我們還有其他有利因素，這些因素不僅抵消了這一影響，也推動了我們創紀錄的一年。因此，這些包括我們所做的產品變化和創新，以及競爭方面的好處，某些競爭對手退出了不同的市場。我們也透過 Wrapped 等活動以及假期和新年期間的活動進行了超強的年終努力。因此，所有這些因素都對第一季的變異性產生了影響。

That said, we've had some great learnings and insights from this performance. Notably, as we've talked about, sort of as Daniel mentioned, thinking about sort of our marketing spend and how we calibrate that. I think you're right to call out that we are very focused on sort of a high LTV-to-CAC threshold, but we also want to make sure that we're sort of capturing all of the opportunity under sort of the investment curve that we have in different markets. And I think it's important to sort of strike that balance in making sure we capture the opportunity while staying disciplined and making sure that we're focused in the way we target high-value users across the board.

也就是說，我們從這次表演中獲得了一些很好的經驗和見解。值得注意的是，正如我們所討論的，就像丹尼爾所提到的那樣，思考我們的行銷支出以及我們如何校準它。我認為你指出我們非常關注 LTV 到 CAC 的高門檻是正確的，但我們也想確保我們抓住了投資曲線下的所有機會我們在不同的市場都有。我認為，在確保我們抓住機會的同時保持紀律並確保我們專注於全面瞄準高價值用戶的方式方面取得平衡非常重要。

All right. Next question from Justin Patterson on education. Daniel, could you please frame the opportunity you see in education? How would you characterize the investment to succeed here versus what you had to invest in podcast and Audiobooks? What would cause you to expand beyond the U.K.?

好的。賈斯汀·帕特森提出的下一個問題是關於教育的。丹尼爾，您能描述一下您在教育領域看到的機會嗎？與在播客和有聲書上必須投資的投資相比，您如何評價在這裡取得成功的投資？是什麼促使您將業務擴展到英國以外的地區？

Yes. I mean this is very, very early days. For those of you that may not know, we've rolled out an early test in the U.K., where we have an educational offering for consumers. Long term, education remains obviously a huge potential opportunity for Spotify, but it's too early to say what the results is of the specific test that we have.

是的。我的意思是，現在還處於非常非常早期的時期。對於那些可能不知道的人，我們已經在英國推出了一項早期測試，我們為消費者提供教育服務。從長遠來看，教育顯然仍然是 Spotify 的一個巨大的潛在機會，但現在說我們具體測試的結果還為時過早。

But as many things with Spotify, maybe to up-level a little bit, is that oftentimes, we either see consumers or creators tapping into a need. And quite often, what ends up happening is that creators are using our platforms for things that we may not have initially intended it. So a long while ago, we added the ability to have a certain podcast behind a paywall. And what we were seeing was that some of these podcasts were actually having courses available for them so that you can consume that and unlock them via Spotify, which is a great use case. Now the problem of that, obviously, is that this has been a far than really a great user experience for consumers. So people are hacking our system in a positive way to do more things on it. And this is exactly how Audiobooks started for us, too.

但正如 Spotify 的許多事情一樣，也許要提升一點，我們經常看到消費者或創作者滿足了需求。通常，最終發生的情況是創作者正在使用我們的平台來做我們最初可能沒有想到的事情。所以很久以前，我們加入了在付費專區後面播放特定播客的功能。我們看到的是，其中一些播客實際上有可供使用的課程，這樣你就可以使用這些課程並透過 Spotify 解鎖它們，這是一個很好的用例。顯然，現在的問題是，這對消費者來說遠遠不是真正好的使用者體驗。因此，人們正在以積極的方式入侵我們的系統，以便在其上做更多的事情。這也正是我們開始有聲書的方式。

So Audiobooks started in Germany for us where the music labels had a bunch of audiobook rights and were uploading these audiobooks to our platform, and they started seeing great consumer success. And similarly, on education, we've started seeing how people are using Spotify for educational purposes. And what we're trying to do now is obviously create a much more compelling consumer experience for said education, and we're adding more tools that allows these educators to communicate, not just via audio but also via video and adding more and more ways for them to engage in that way.

因此，我們在德國開始有聲讀物，那裡的音樂唱片公司擁有大量有聲讀物權利，並將這些有聲讀物上傳到我們的平台，他們開始看到消費者的巨大成功。同樣，在教育方面，我們已經開始了解人們如何將 Spotify 用於教育目的。我們現在正在努力做的顯然是為上述教育創造更具吸引力的消費者體驗，並且我們正在添加更多工具，使這些教育工作者不僅可以透過音訊進行交流，還可以透過視訊進行交流，並添加越來越多的方式讓他們以這種方式參與。

And I think long term, if you squint and see that, education remains a massive opportunity. And the Internet should be poised to create unparalleled user experience where some of the world's best educators and creators and storytellers should be able to help lots of consumers. So what you can see if you're a consumer in the U.K. at the moment at the start is you're going to see lots of really cool ways where, for instance, you can learn how to become a better DJ using Spotify or learn how to play the guitar and some really amazing content that's on there by creators. And a lot of these creators were already doing podcasts, and they're now adding ways to up-monetize their fans by creating amazing content that allows them to get better at their craft.

我認為從長遠來看，如果你仔細觀察就會發現，教育仍然是一個巨大的機會。網路應該準備好創造無與倫比的使用者體驗，世界上一些最好的教育家、創作者和故事講述者應該能夠幫助許多消費者。因此，如果您目前是英國的消費者，您會看到很多非常酷的方式，例如，您可以學習如何使用 Spotify 成為更好的 DJ，或者學習如何彈吉他以及創作者提供的一些非常精彩的內容。其中許多創作者已經在製作播客，他們現在正在透過創建令人驚嘆的內容來增加粉絲的盈利方式，從而使他們能夠提高自己的技能。

And I think that is the trend in education. You guys know this, but more and more consumers are relating to other people. They're not necessarily related to faceless brands. And so this is a huge trend in education that we're very excited about.

我認為這就是教育的趨勢。你們都知道這一點，但越來越多的消費者正在與其他人建立聯繫。它們不一定與不知名的品牌有關。這是教育領域的一個巨大趨勢，我們對此感到非常興奮。

All right. Our next question is going to come from Mike Morris on pricing. Recent press indicates that you've raised price in the U.K. and Australia and are planning to do so in the U.S. later this year. Can you provide an update on pricing changes for this year? How will you approach pricing increases by plan and unique pricing for Audiobooks or other Premium features?

好的。我們的下一個問題將來自邁克莫里斯（Mike Morris）關於定價的問題。最近的新聞表明，您已經提高了英國和澳洲的價格，並計劃今年稍後在美國也這樣做。您能否提供今年價格變動的最新資訊？您將如何透過有聲書或其他高級功能的計劃和獨特定價來提高定價？

Yes. I'll start, and maybe Ben can add.

是的。我先開始，也許本來可以補充。

We don't preannounce anything we're doing on the -- any particular type of price increase. But as I said, the general thinking, if you want to understand how we're thinking is, it is really about value-to-price ratio. So we're constantly looking at how much value we were adding, how are consumers in that market responding to that value that we're adding and then what is the fair price to have a good value-to-price ratio.

我們不會預先宣布我們正在針對任何特定類型的價格上漲所做的任何事情。但正如我所說，一般的想法，如果你想了解我們的想法是什麼，它實際上是關於價值與價格的比。因此，我們不斷地關注我們增加了多少價值，該市場的消費者對我們增加的價值有何反應，然後是多少才是合理的價格才能獲得良好的性價比。

And we're doing this in multiple ways, of course. One is adding value into this base here, but the other way is to increasing the choice for consumers. So I do want to point to that a little bit more here. So you've seen us over the years to add more ways for consumers to choose different plans in Spotify. And it originally started off by being sort of just a single-person plan and then went to a Family Plan, and then we added Duo, and then we added various ways of paying for these family plans in, for instance, Southeast Asian markets where you can have a day pass, a week pass and so on.

當然，我們正在透過多種方式做到這一點。一種是為這個基礎增加價值，但另一種方法是增加消費者的選擇。所以我想在這裡多指出一點。多年來，您已經看到我們為消費者添加了更多方式來選擇 Spotify 中的不同計劃。它最初只是一個單人計劃，然後進入家庭計劃，然後我們添加了 Duo，然後我們在東南亞市場添加了各種支付這些家庭計劃的方式，其中您可以購買一日通行證、一周通行證等。

So just a lot more flexibility. And you should think about that we want to offer as much flexibility as possible in this next stage of Spotify to now because we are at the size where we want to appeal to an even larger base of consumers to turn to one of our subscription offerings. So that obviously means that you'll see things like, for instance, the audiobook-only tier that was referenced earlier here. You should also expect to see a music-only tier as well. And all of this is in line to just offer as much flexibility to consumers as possible for them to pick whatever plan they feel offers the best value-to-price ratio for them.

所以更加靈活。你應該考慮一下，我們希望在 Spotify 的下一階段提供盡可能多的靈活性，因為我們的規模足以吸引更多的消費者轉向我們的訂閱產品。因此，這顯然意味著您會看到類似此處之前提到的僅有聲讀物層之類的內容。您還應該期望看到純音樂層。所有這一切都是為了為消費者提供盡可能多的靈活性，讓他們選擇他們認為為他們提供最佳性價比的任何計劃。

Okay. Next question will be from Benjamin Black on gross margins. There was a big step-up in gross margin in the quarter and for the second quarter outlook. Were there any one-timers? Or is this a new trend? How should we think about the cadence of gross margin expansion for the balance of the year?

好的。下一個問題將來自本傑明·布萊克（Benjamin Black）關於毛利率的問題。本季和第二季前景的毛利率大幅上升。有一次性的嗎？或者說這是一個新趨勢？我們該如何看待今年剩餘時間毛利率擴張的節奏？

Thanks, Ben. This is a great question. I'll start just by reemphasizing what we've been saying a few quarters in a row now. We feel really confident about the gross margin trajectory and the sequential momentum we have. So consider this a real trend and not just a function of one-offs.

謝謝，本。這是一個很好的問題。首先，我將再次強調我們連續幾季所說的內容。我們對毛利率軌跡和我們所擁有的連續勢頭非常有信心。因此，請將此視為一種真正的趨勢，而不僅僅是一次性的結果。

As I said in my prepared remarks, we have a lot of moving parts as is the case every quarter: nonmusic, music, Marketplace, to name a few of the major areas. We also had movements in other cost of revenue, such as continued favorability with cloud costs as Daniel mentioned. So there are a bunch of things driving the upside.

正如我在準備好的演講中所說，我們每季都有很多變化的部分：非音樂、音樂、市場，僅舉幾個主要領域。我們的其他收入成本也發生了變化，例如丹尼爾提到的對雲端成本的持續青睞。因此，有很多因素推動了上漲。

From a year-on-year perspective, it's a continuation of the trends we talked about last quarter that I mentioned, too: music improvements driven by the growth of our Marketplace business, our continuing pivot to profitability and podcasting and also optimizing other cost of revenues. For Q2, we see momentum from these same areas persisting.

從同比角度來看，這是我們上季度討論的趨勢的延續，我也提到過：我們的市場業務增長推動了音樂改進，我們繼續轉向盈利和播客，並優化了其他成本收入。對於第二季度，我們看到這些相同領域的勢頭持續存在。

Okay. And we've got another question from Doug Anmuth on Investor Day goals. You often say that Spotify is well positioned to deliver on the 2022 Investor Day goals, but the company has changed a lot since then. Were the changes that you've made and the newfound discipline required to actually deliver those goals? Or should you now have real upside because Spotify is being run very differently?

好的。我們也收到了另一個關於 Doug Anmuth 提出的關於投資者日目標的問題。您經常說 Spotify 完全有能力實現 2022 年投資者日目標，但自那時起該公司發生了很大變化。您所做的改變和新制定的紀律是否真正實現這些目標所必需的？或者你現在應該有真正的優勢，因為 Spotify 的運作方式非常不同？

Yes. I mean one of the things we talked about at Spotify is obviously the change is the only constant. It's a sort of mantra I have internally. So that we're changing is not perhaps something U.S. investors should be all that surprised about because that's the only thing we pride ourselves internally with, and you can see that in some of my opening remarks too about sort of how we pivot focus internally as well.

是的。我的意思是，我們在 Spotify 討論的一件事顯然是變化是唯一不變的。這是我內心的一種口頭禪。因此，我們正在做出的改變也許並不是美國投資者應該感到驚訝的事情，因為這是我們內部唯一值得自豪的事情，你也可以在我的一些開場白中看到，關於我們如何在內部將重點轉向出色地。

But I think maybe to set context on the 2022 Investor Day. The 2022 Investor Day wasn't as much backward looking as it was forward looking. So what we tried to do then is to outline where we were going with the company. And some of those things, we used both internally and externally pretty much at the same time to kind of set the directions for the team. And in there, we talked about the Spotify Machine.

但我認為也許可以為 2022 年投資者日設定背景。 2022 年投資人日與其說是回顧過去，不如說是展望未來。因此，我們當時試圖要做的是概述我們與公司的發展方向。其中一些東西，我們幾乎同時使用內部和外部來為團隊設定方向。在那裡，我們討論了 Spotify Machine。

And the Spotify Machine being that this isn't just a sort of one-trick pony anymore, but it is actually multiple verticals working together to provide a consistent great story around just more and more choice for consumers that drives more and more engagement because you may come for the music and stay for the audiobooks and some consumers may come for the podcast and stay for the audiobooks. So this is just going to be more ways for people to interact with it. And the Machine takes care of all the complexity on the back end to deal with what was historically a very difficult problem to solve, which is multiple business models and one consumer experience. And so that's the sort of key arc of what you're seeing contributing to this story.

Spotify Machine 的特點是，這不再只是一種單招小馬，而是實際上是多個垂直領域共同努力，圍繞為消費者提供越來越多的選擇提供一致的精彩故事，從而推動越來越多的參與，因為你可能是為了音樂而來，為了有聲書留下來，而一些消費者可能為了播客而來，為了有聲讀物留下來。因此，這將成為人們與之互動的更多方式。機器負責處理後端的所有複雜性，以處理歷史上非常難以解決的問題，即多種商業模式和一種消費者體驗。這就是你所看到的對這個故事做出貢獻的關鍵弧線。

Now specifically related to resourcefulness, I do agree that we've made a harder pivot to that than we probably initially planned. But if you walk back to some of our comments, we did say that 2022 was an investment year, and then we also would go back eventually to focus on something else. Obviously, that was a harder pivot in 2023 than we initially planned to do. And I think that's served us well. But I would say it's really in the 80-20 story. 80% is pretty much the same, but we're actually delivering on all the things we said in 2022, and 20% is there may be some added upside by us just being a more resourceful company. And we -- I'm certainly surprised in a positive way by the resilience and the resourcefulness that the teams are showing on some line items like marketing and cost of delivery, just to mention 2 examples.

現在特別與足智多謀有關，我確實同意我們已經做出了比我們最初計劃的更困難的轉變。但如果你回顧我們的一些評論，我們確實說過 2022 年是投資年，然後我們最終也會回頭關注其他事情。顯然，2023 年的轉型比我們最初計劃的還要困難。我認為這對我們很有幫助。但我想說的是，這確實發生在 80-20 世紀的故事中。 80% 幾乎是一樣的，但我們實際上正在兌現我們在 2022 年所說的所有事情，20% 是我們作為一家更足智多謀的公司可能會帶來一些額外的好處。我當然對團隊在行銷和交付成本等某些項目上表現出的韌性和足智多謀感到驚訝，僅舉兩個例子。

So I think we can be a better company than even what I said in 2022, but I think you shouldn't see this as something very different than what we outlined. It is pretty much the same but hopefully with a little bit crisper execution on it.

所以我認為我們可以成為一家比我在 2022 年所說的更好的公司，但我認為你不應該認為這與我們概述的有很大不同。它幾乎是一樣的，但希望執行起來更清晰一些。

Okay. We've got a question from Rich Greenfield on TikTok. With the U.S. government set to ban TikTok barring court intervention, how are you thinking about the opening that could create a music discovery in short-form content tied to music?

好的。我們收到了 Rich Greenfield 在 TikTok 上提出的問題。鑑於美國政府將禁止 TikTok 禁止法院幹預，您如何看待可能在與音樂相關的短片內容中創造音樂發現的機會？

Yes. I'm not going to comment on other companies and related on their strategy or what may happen with their regulatory proceedings. But obviously, what I can say is that we are focused on winning discovery, and we're going to add as many ways that we can to improve the discovery of Spotify. So you saw us in the quarter add music videos. You're going to see music clips in a bigger way. You can already, today, if you open up the app, start seeing more and more videos on the music side where artists are engaging with fans. Those, in a similar way, are like a reels product that TikTok did a few years ago.

是的。我不會評論其他公司及其策略或監管程序可能發生的情況。但顯然，我可以說的是，我們專注於贏得發現，我們將添加盡可能多的方法來提高 Spotify 的發現。所以你看到我們在本季度添加了音樂視頻。您將以更大的方式查看音樂剪輯。今天，如果您打開應用程序，您已經可以開始看到越來越多的音樂方面的視頻，藝術家與粉絲互動。類似地，這些就像 TikTok 幾年前做的捲軸產品。

So I think the whole industry, TikTok and other companies have obviously improved the user experience. We are all, as an industry, learning about these trends and best practices and trying to improve our products. So that's what great competition does. It helps improve for everyone. And of course, we are not any different than anyone else in that we're trying to learn from the marketplace. We learn what consumers like. We try to improve upon it, and make the best possible user experience.

所以我認為整個產業、TikTok和其他公司都明顯改善了使用者體驗。作為一個行業，我們都在了解這些趨勢和最佳實踐，並努力改進我們的產品。這就是激烈競爭的作用。它有助於每個人的進步。當然，我們與其他人沒有什麼不同，我們都在努力從市場中學習。我們了解消費者喜歡什麼。我們嘗試對其進行改進，並提供最佳的用戶體驗。

So short-form music content is a big focus of ours. You're going to see more video on the music side make its way into the product in 2024. And 2 other things, by the way, that you're going to see is, of course, more AI products in the music side as well. And in addition to that, I believe you're going to see an even more global music ecosystem than any time before in history. So we're excited about all these sort of 3 core trends in music.

因此，短格式音樂內容是我們的重點。到 2024 年，您將看到更多音樂方面的影片進入產品中。除此之外，我相信您將看到一個比歷史上任何時候都更加全球化的音樂生態系統。因此，我們對音樂的這 3 個核心趨勢感到興奮。

All right. We've got a follow-up from Rich Greenfield on top line growth. Daniel, in the short video you created on the quarter, you sounded very pleased with your 20% revenue growth rate. Premium's been the key driver aided by price increases. Curious, how should we be thinking about advertising growth going forward? Can it start to increase your overall growth rate and grow 20% plus?

好的。我們收到了里奇·格林菲爾德（Rich Greenfield）關於營收成長的後續報導。丹尼爾，在您本季製作的短片中，您聽起來對 20% 的營收成長率感到非常滿意。溢價一直是價格上漲的主要動力。很好奇，我們該如何考慮未來的廣告成長？它能開始提高你的整體成長率並成長 20% 以上嗎？

Yes. You're right that our Premium product was sort of the big driver of the quarter, and we felt really good about that. And Ben can add to this, but we saw a lot of strength in the quarter as well as it relates to advertising.

是的。你說得對，我們的高級產品是本季的主要動力，我們對此感覺非常好。本可以補充這一點，但我們在本季度看到了很大的優勢，這與廣告有關。

I think it's a little bit early to say on my side how the macro on the advertising side will develop, but I remain cautiously optimistic that we're seeing some really good growth, but again, just to remind investors, the reality is even if advertising will become a better part of the story, it's still a relatively small part of our overall revenue mix. So anything we can do on our subscription side will obviously materially outperform any improvement on the ad side.

我認為現在說廣告方面的宏觀發展將如何發展還為時過早，但我仍然謹慎樂觀地認為我們看到了一些非常好的增長，但再次提醒投資者，現實是即使廣告將成為故事中更好的一部分，但它仍然是我們整體收入組合中相對較小的一部分。因此，我們在訂閱方面可以做的任何事情顯然都會明顯優於廣告方面的任何改進。

So don't think I'm not excited about advertising. But it just happens to be that subscription side, obviously, it's the bigger part in order to get to the 20% revenue growth.

所以不要以為我對廣告沒興趣。但它恰好是訂閱方面，顯然，為了實現 20% 的收入成長，它是更重要的部分。

Did I miss anything, Ben?

我錯過了什麼嗎，本？

Yes. I think I would just add that even in the most recent quarter, ads was just shy of the 20% mark. So we are getting quite close to sort of kind of almost parity growth rates between the 2 segments.

是的。我想我只想補充一點，即使在最近一個季度，廣告也只略低於 20%。因此，我們已經非常接近這兩個細分市場之間幾乎相等的成長率。

I would just say that sort of in the near term, we continue to see strong growth in supply and monetizable impressions. So we're just very focused on making sure we're optimizing across all channels to meet the growing demand as budgets continue to unlock sequentially each quarter.

我只想說，在短期內，我們繼續看到供應和可貨幣化印象的強勁增長。因此，我們非常專注於確保我們在所有管道上進行最佳化，以滿足不斷增長的需求，因為每個季度的預算繼續按順序釋放。

Okay. We've got a question now from Benjamin Black on Universal Music Group. Could you talk a little bit about your expanded relationship with Universal Music Group that was announced this quarter? What are the key benefits for you? And where could we see the biggest impact to the financial model?

好的。我們現在收到環球音樂集團本傑明·布萊克 (Benjamin Black) 的提問。您能否談談本季宣布的與環球音樂集團擴大的合作關係？對您來說主要的好處是什麼？我們在哪裡可以看到對財務模式最大的影響？

Yes. I mean generally speaking, we're always -- just to set expectations, we're always sort of working with our partners across all different content mixes and, of course, the major labels, too. And a huge part of what we're trying to do is operationally improve and allowing us for more flexibility to work together. And that means to allow the teams on the various side to give more opportunities to experiment on the platform with rights.

是的。我的意思是，一般來說，我們總是——只是為了設定期望，我們總是與我們的合作夥伴在所有不同的內容組合上合作，當然，也包括主要唱片公司。我們正在努力做的很大一部分是改進運營，讓我們能夠更靈活地合作。這意味著讓各方團隊有更多的機會在有權利的平台上進行實驗。

And so a way of showcasing that is really, for instance, around the music videos that now are in, I believe, 11 or 12 markets around the world. So that's a great way of just showing how we work with our label partners across the board. You're also going to see music clips show up in a bigger way where artists are using ways of short-form storytelling on video to tell the story around their album or tell fans about a new album drop that they should be presaving.

因此，一種真正的展示方式是，例如，圍繞著現在在全球 11 或 12 個市場上銷售的音樂影片。因此，這是展示我們如何與品牌合作夥伴全面合作的好方法。您還將看到音樂剪輯以更大的方式出現，藝術家們在視頻中使用簡短的講故事方式來講述他們專輯的故事，或者告訴歌迷他們應該預先保存的新專輯。

So there's lots and lots of innovation that's happening together with our label partners and artists alike. And UMG is obviously a very important partner to us, just as the other major labels and the independent labels are, too.

因此，我們與唱片公司合作夥伴和藝術家等一起發生了很多很多的創新。 UMG 顯然是我們非常重要的合作夥伴，就像其他主要唱片公司和獨立唱片公司一樣。

And I think long term, the way to think about that from a financial impact point of view is really the more we can improve engagement, the more value we're creating, the more ability we will have eventually to capture some of that value through price increases or more inventory that then drives advertising, which, of course, is to the benefit not just of Spotify, but it's the benefit of the entire creative community.

我認為從長遠來看，從財務影響的角度來思考這個問題的方法實際上是，我們越能提高參與度，我們創造的價值就越多，我們最終就越有能力透過以下方式獲取部分價值：價格上漲或庫存增加會推動廣告投放，當然，這不僅有利於Spotify，也有利於整個創意社群。

All right. We've got -- our next question is going to come from Rich Greenfield on music royalty rates. How does the recent launch of an audiobook $9.99 unlimited product impact your statutory music royalty rates? Why are publishers concerned?

好的。我們的下一個問題將來自 Rich Greenfield 關於音樂版稅率的問題。最近推出的 9.99 美元無限有聲書產品對您的法定音樂版稅費率有何影響？出版商為何擔心？

Yes. I mean -- so first, I talked about this, but a huge part in this next phase of Spotify is really to allow for more flexibility for consumers. So we went from a single plan, $9.99 back in the day, to then improving family plans to then adding Duo to then having day pricing, week pricing in certain markets. And now you're seeing an audiobook-only tier, and you're going to see eventually a music-only tier, too.

是的。我的意思是，首先，我談到了這一點，但 Spotify 下一階段的一個重要部分實際上是為消費者提供更大的靈活性。因此，我們從當時 9.99 美元的單一計劃，到改進家庭計劃，再到添加 Duo，然後在某些市場實行日定價、週定價。現在您將看到僅有聲書的圖層，並且最終您還將看到僅音樂的圖層。

So that's on the specific around the offering side. You will see a lot more sort of tiers that allows for more flexibilities to consumers to opt into the type of deal that they believe offers the greatest value for them in terms of how they're using Spotify.

這就是產品方面的具體情況。您將看到更多種類的等級，讓消費者更靈活地選擇他們認為在使用 Spotify 時為他們提供最大價值的交易類型。

Now specifically to our content partners, while I won't comment on any specifics, what I would say is that, of course, this is the sort of natural tension between suppliers and distributors. There's always a tension around payments. Now to level-set this, we did our Loud & Clear a while ago, but I think it's important to note that Spotify, in 2023, had record payouts to the entire creative community, and global publishing revenue will hit a record for -- hit a record for 2023, and we will pay even more in 2024.

現在特別針對我們的內容合作夥伴，雖然我不會評論任何具體細節，但我想說的是，當然，這是供應商和分銷商之間的自然緊張關係。付款方面總是存在緊張局勢。現在，為了確定這一點，我們不久前做了 Loud & Clear，但我認為值得注意的是，Spotify 在 2023 年向整個創意社群支付了創紀錄的支出，全球出版收入將創下歷史新高—— 2023 年將創下紀錄，2024 年我們將支付更多。

So I feel really good about where we are relative to our partners and the fact that we are growing the creator ecosystem. And that still remains our goal, and I feel good about delivering on that goal, too. So yes, of course, there's always going to be tension between that sort of supplier-distributor thing. But I would say, we are on track for a better 2024 for songwriters and publishers. So I feel good about delivering lots and lots of value. And relative to the CD era, publishers and songwriters are faring way better in the streaming economy. So I feel good about that.

因此，我對我們相對於合作夥伴的地位以及我們正在發展創作者生態系統這一事實感到非常滿意。這仍然是我們的目標，我也對實現這一目標感到高興。所以，是的，當然，供應商與經銷商之間總是存在著緊張關係。但我想說，對於歌曲作者和發行商來說，我們有望迎來一個更好的 2024 年。所以我對提供很多很多的價值感到很高興。相對於 CD 時代，發行商和詞曲作者在串流媒體經濟中的表現要好得多。所以我對此感覺很好。

Okay. Our next question is going to come from Jessica Reif Ehrlich on advertising. This past quarter, The Trade Desk called audio a key area of growth for their business. Programmatic advertising is currently a small part of your business. Can you provide some color on the growth opportunity in programmatic and advertising in general?

好的。我們的下一個問題將來自傑西卡·雷夫·埃利希（Jessica Reif Ehrlich）關於廣告的問題。上個季度，The Trade Desk 將音訊稱為其業務成長的關鍵領域。目前，程序化廣告只是您業務的一小部分。您能否提供一些關於程序化和廣告領域整體成長機會的資訊？

Thanks, Jessica. It's a great question. We believe, as you sort of framed in your question, that programmatic is a growing and important part of the mix, and we're bullish on this channel long term. It's an opportunity really for all to participate, small-, mid-, large-sized enterprises and businesses across the board.

謝謝，傑西卡。這是一個很好的問題。我們相信，正如您在問題中所提出的那樣，程序化是其中不斷增長的重要組成部分，我們長期看好這個管道。這對所有人來說都是一個真正參與的機會，無論是小型、中型、大型企業或企業。

As Daniel mentioned kind of in a prior answer, ads is still the smaller part of our mix. And as you call out in your question, programmatic is also a small part of that smaller portion. Right now, as I said in my prior answer related to advertising, we just continue to sort of focus on optimizing across all formats and delivery channels to meet the opportunity where it is.

正如丹尼爾在之前的回答中提到的那樣，廣告仍然是我們組合中較小的一部分。正如您在問題中指出的那樣，程序化也是較小部分的一小部分。現在，正如我在之前與廣告相關的回答中所說，我們只是繼續專注於優化所有格式和交付管道，以抓住機會。

In terms of near-term opportunity, again, very focused on 2024, we continue to watch closely but are encouraged by what we're seeing as advertiser budgets unlocking sequentially each quarter. And we've got some good macro trends momentum heading into the summer in the second half with global events like the Euros, Olympics, amongst others.

就近期機會而言，我們再次非常關注 2024 年，我們將繼續密切關注，但我們看到廣告商預算每季都按順序釋放，這讓我們感到鼓舞。下半年進入夏季，隨著歐洲盃、奧運等全球賽事的舉辦，我們看到了一些良好的宏觀趨勢勢頭。

Great. Okay. We actually have time for one more question, and that's going to be a follow-up from Jessica Reif Ehrlich on Christian Luiga. You recently announced Christian as your new CFO. Daniel, what in particular about Christian's capabilities or skill set do you think will be most additive to Spotify? And what will Christian's top priorities be when he joins the company?

偉大的。好的。我們實際上還有時間再問一個問題，這將是傑西卡·雷夫·埃利希 (Jessica Reif Ehrlich) 對克里斯蒂安·路易加 (Christian Luiga) 的後續報道。您最近宣布克里斯蒂安擔任您的新財務長。 Daniel，您認為 Christian 的哪些能力或技能對 Spotify 最有幫助？當克里斯蒂安加入公司時，他的首要任務是什麼？

Yes. So I've actually seen Christian firsthand for quite some time. Just as a sort of fun anecdote, so Christian was part of the team at TeliaSonera that made the Spotify investment in 2015. So he's very familiar with the company and myself and Martin Lorentzon, the other Co-Founder of Spotify. So we know Christian quite well. And it's been fun to follow his progress from a far, obviously, at TeliaSonera and then going to Saab, tackling different industries but kind of always with a consistent great track record. And that's a track record of improving the bottom line but, at the same time, be very, very focused on driving a much better business even on the top line, too.

是的。事實上，我親眼目睹克里斯蒂安已經有一段時間了。作為一個有趣的軼事，Christian 是 TeliaSonera 團隊的一員，該團隊在 2015 年投資了 Spotify 所以他對這家公司、我自己以及 Spotify 的另一位聯合創始人 Martin Lorentzon 非常熟悉。所以我們對基督教非常了解。很明顯，在TeliaSonera，然後去薩博，遠遠地跟踪他的進步是很有趣的，涉足不同的行業，但始終保持一致的良好記錄。這是改善盈利的記錄，但同時，也要非常非常專注於推動更好的業務，即使是在盈利方面也是如此。

And I think that's the sort of key thing that got me and the rest of the team to be excited about him too because this is a person who's been at many different industries and seen many different things. And this is not just someone who's focused on optimizing on the bottom line by cutting costs but actually someone who's focused on what's right for the business even on the top line, too. And that feels like the right fit for us. So we're very excited about that.

我認為這也是讓我和團隊其他成員對他感到興奮的關鍵因素，因為他曾在許多不同的行業工作過，見過許多不同的事情。這不僅是一個專注於透過削減成本來優化利潤的人，而且實際上也是一個專注於適合業務的人，甚至是在營收方面。這感覺很適合我們。所以我們對此感到非常興奮。

And really, the top priorities as he comes in is to be focused on -- together with the team on driving even further improvements, on being resourceful. That is our sort of key mantra. We think we still have more ways to go when it comes to that. So we're excited about that. And then one of the questions here alluded to sort of capital allocation, so I'm sure that will be one of his top priorities together with myself and the team, too.

事實上，他上任後的首要任務是與團隊一起推動進一步的改進，並發揮足智多謀。這是我們的座右銘。我們認為在這方面我們還有更多的路要走。所以我們對此感到興奮。這裡的一個問題提到了某種資本配置，所以我確信這也將是他以及我自己和團隊的首要任務之一。

So we're excited about it. But yes, he's going to be a great addition, I think, to the team, and I look forward to all of you guys meeting him as well.

所以我們對此感到興奮。但是，是的，我認為他將成為團隊的一個重要補充，我也期待你們所有人見到他。

All right. Great. So that's going to conclude our Q&A session today. Thanks, everyone, for the questions. And now I'd like to turn the call back over to Daniel for some closing remarks.

好的。偉大的。我們今天的問答環節到此結束。謝謝大家的提問。現在我想將電話轉回給丹尼爾，讓他做一些結束語。

All right. Well, thanks, Bryan. We've talked about 2024 as the year of monetization, and I think we're really delivering on that ambition. Now as we've shifted the focus on strong revenue growth and margin expansion, we see a clear opportunity to ensure we're also continuing to grow the top of our funnel. I feel good about the changes we're implementing and remain very confident in our ability to reach the ambitious plans we've outlined.

好的。嗯，謝謝，布萊恩。我們已經將 2024 年視為貨幣化年，我認為我們正在真正實現這一目標。現在，隨著我們將重點轉向強勁的收入成長和利潤率擴張，我們看到了一個明顯的機會，確保我們繼續擴大漏斗頂部的業務。我對我們正在實施的變革感到滿意，並對我們實現所概述的雄心勃勃的計劃的能力充滿信心。

So thanks, everyone, for joining us, and I look forward to speaking to you next quarter.

感謝大家加入我們，我期待下個季度與你們交談。

Okay. Great. And that concludes today's call. A replay will be available on our website and also on the Spotify app under Spotify Earnings Call Replays. Thanks, everyone, for joining.

好的。偉大的。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們的網站以及 Spotify 應用程式上的 Spotify 收益電話會議重播將提供重播。謝謝大家的加入。