Audiostreaminggiant Spotifyhas reached 239 million paying premium subscribers for the first quarter of 2024, up from 236 million at the fourth quarter of 2023, which met analyst expectations.

Stockholm-headquarteredSpotify, led by CEO Daniel Ek, also reported that it hit 615 million monthly active users (MAUs) as of the end of the first quarter to March 31, 2024, up 19 percent from 602 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023.That missed on a Wall Street forecast for 617.9 million MAUs for Q1.

First quarter quarter revenue rose 20 percent to 3.6 billion ($3.84 billion). During the latest quarter, Spotify swung to pre-tax income of 174 million ($185.4 million), against a pre-tax loss of 70 million (US$74.5 million) in the first quarter of 2023. The business performed well in Q1, led by healthy subscriber gains, improved monetization and record strength in profitability, the company said in commentary that accompanied its first quarter earnings.

Advertising revenue rose 18 percent to 389 million (US$414.5 million), and Spotify reported podcasting ad revenue grew faster than music ad revenue.

First quarter revenue from premium subscribers rose 20 percent to 3.24 billion (US$3.45 billion), driven by subscriber gains and price increases.

Weve talked about 2024 as the year of monetization and were delivering on that ambition. Now as weve shifted to focus on strong revenue growth and margin expansion, we see a clear opportunity to ensure we are also continuing to grow the top of our funnel. I feel good about the changes we are implementing and remain very confident in our ability to reach the ambitious plans weve outlined, Spotify CEO Ek said in a statement.