Deezer announced their Q3 2024 financial results, and while revenues were up significantly year-over-year, subscriber numbers revealed some nuances that paint a more complicated picture of their growth.
Deezer reported revenues of €134 million, an 11% increase compared to the same quarter last year. This marks continued progress towards their annual revenue growth target of 10% for the year. However, the subscriber story deserves more context.
At first glance, Deezer reported their total subscriber count grew 4.1% year-over-year to 9.9 million. But upon further examination, this growth is less impressive. Deezer had also reported 9.9 million subscribers last year in Q3. So on the surface, their subscriber base was flat, not growing.
Deezer acknowledged this by revealing they had “cleaned” up nearly 400,000 inactive family subscriber accounts from their year-ago metrics. Once those accounts were removed, Deezer restated their prior year’s total to 9.5 million subscribers. Even with this adjustment, subscriber growth was only 4.1% to 9.9 million.
Perhaps more concerning was the performance of Deezer’s direct, paid subscribers – those who sign up independently rather than through corporate partnerships. Direct subscribers actually declined slightly from 5.3 million to 5.2 million year-over-year.
While revenue growth remains on track thanks to strong business-to-business sales, the flatlining and declines in direct subscribers raise questions about Deezer’s ability to attract and retain individual users long-term. Increased competition from giants like Spotify pose challenges.
