#TheWeeklyRoundUp - 28.07.23

Daniel Ek talks AI, artist-centric, TikTok Music and how price hikes are now part of Spotify’s ‘toolbox’ (Music Business Worldwide) Spotify's latest earnings report, for Q2, released Tuesday (July 25), showed the company beating guidance on numerous fronts, including monthly active users and Premium subs. The platform's MAUs soared by 36 million in Q2 to 551 million, a 27% YoY increase, while the number of paid subscribers jumped 10 million to hit a total of 220 million (a 17% YoY increase). Total revenue came in at €3.17 billion, in line with guidance and marking a 14% YoY jump at constant currency – although slightly below the expectations of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv, who had been looking for around €3.21 billion. Yet it was the company’s reported net loss that drew the attention of the markets. Coming in at €302 million for the quarter, or €1.55 per share, it was considerably wider than the €125 million (€0.65 per share) loss in Q2 2022. Markets reacted negatively to the news, with SPOT shares dropping more than 13.7% in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. Even the announcement on Monday (July 24) that Spotify was finally hiking the price of its individual Premium subscription for the first time in its history, in the US and in over 50 other markets, wasn’t enough to halt the stock price decline. Yet on the company’s earnings call Tuesday morning, Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Ek and CFO Paul Vogel made it clear that, with the price hike in place, the company now has multiple avenues for increasing revenue. Besides the expected impact of the price hike, Ek and Vogel gave investors some insight into what the world’s biggest subscription music streaming service is expecting, and what it’s planning, in the quarters to come.

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Ultra South Africa Announces 9th Edition In Cape Town & Johannesburg For March 2024 (South African Music News & Entertainment)

Ultra South Africa, the country’s premier electronic dance music festival, will return in 2024. Ultra South Africa 2023 broke attendance records and is now set to welcome back tens of thousands of electronic music lovers in March 2024 for two more events in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Ultra South Africa 2024 will take place on Friday 1 March in Cape Town at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Racecourse, and on Saturday 2 March in Johannesburg at the Expo Centre at Nasrec.

Ultra South Africa is anticipating a huge demand for tickets for its 2024 edition, and has unveiled a ticket registration prior to its official on-sale launch. With registration, fans will receive the chance to buy limited Tier 1 tickets at launch-phase pricing – the most affordable tickets available. Attendees can register for tickets before Tier 1 tickets officially go on sale on Tuesday 1 August.

General Access tickets are from R695.

VIP tickets are from R1,500.

VVIP (Johannesburg only) tickets are from R3,500.

Ticket prices are all-inclusive, with no additional or hidden fees.

With nearly 500,000 attendees over Ultra South Africa’s eight-year history, the 2024 edition will sustain the festival’s storied legacy by bringing the event to new heights with elevated, top-shelf production and musical talent.