| Weekly News Roundup |
| 1. Klarna introduces subscription plan – Techcrunch The Swedish buy now, pay later giant Klarna has announced its first subscription plan, “Klarna Plus,” for $7.99 per month, featuring benefits like no added service fees when using Klarna’s One Time Card, double rewards points and access to exclusive discounts with popular brands. “Our research indicates that dedicated Klarna users are looking for an enhanced shopping experience through a subscription model,” said David Sandstrom, chief marketing officer, in a statement. “Klarna Plus addresses this demand, allowing us to deepen our engagement with 37 million loyal U.S. consumers, while also further diversifying a portfolio of payment and shopping solutions.” Read more 2. The Swedish SaaS success 84Codes is making over 100 million SEK in profit – Breakit 84Codes is aiming to become the best in the world at so-called message queues. During the fiscal year ending last June, the company generated 257.5 million SEK in revenue, an increase from 197.9 million SEK in the previous year, while making a profit of 110.4 million SEK. “84codes cash grew during the period and amounted to 149 million SEK in June 2023, an increase from 88 million the year before.” Read more 3. YouTube and Google subscription services hit $15 billion in 2023 revenue – Variety The $15 billion revenue figure from subscriptions is up fivefold since 2019. The company did not provide a breakdown of revenue by service – but has announced that Youtube has 100 million paying subscribers. “YouTube is the key driver of our subscription revenues,” CEO Sundar Pichai said. “YouTube Music and Premium have real momentum.” Read more 4. Publicly listed SaaS company Vitec: We have almost 1 BN SEK to use for acquisitions – Breakit The valuation of the SaaS company with roots in Umeå is extremely inflated, but so far, the management has lived up to expectations, writes Breakit. The latest report shows that revenue increased by 40 percent, and recurring revenue rose by 44 percent. “It can be argued that Vitec is Sweden’s largest SaaS company with a total turnover of 2.778 billion SEK in 2023. However, the group consists of almost 40 companies (even though Vitec chooses to call them business units) which are operated relatively independently.” Read more 5. Spotify’s audiobooks expansion has grown the overall US market – MusicAlly Spotify’s new audiobooks features have been a prominent weapon in its battle against Apple. New data seems to indicate that the push is working. The Swedish company estimates that they already have an 11% share of the US audiobooks market, ahead of Apple. “Excluding Spotify, the audiobook market in the United States grew 14 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the previous year,” reported the New York Times, citing data from research firm Bookstat. “With the addition of Spotify, the audiobook sector grew by 28 percent in that period.” Read more Weekly Analysis Roundup 1. Report from Recurly: The 2024 State of Subscriptions – Recurly The annual report on the subscription economy from the subscription platform Recurly is here. The data comes from millions of subscribers and several billion transactions. The report shows, among other things, that so-called subscription fatigue among consumers is an overrated phenomenon. “Over the past year, Recurly saw a 16% increase in active subscribers and when comparing this to 2020, growth surges to 105%.” Read more 2. “Klarna Plus roll-out proves subscriptions are the newest growth tactic for BNPL” – Insider Intelligence This launch helps Klarna stay competitive as other BNPL providers are exploring similar subscription services, writes Insider Intelligence, while noting that the Swedish company is preparing for an IPO in the USA. “Klarna Plus can help the company maintain strong growth as it goes public. It will bring in a new and consistent revenue stream for Klarna, bolstering its financial health.” Read more 3. Study: Willingness to pay for news media subscription drops when AI is used – BSI Readers are skeptical about the use of AI in digital news media, according to a study by the German marketing service provider BSI Group. For example, the willingness to pay drops by 30 percent when AI is used to research, process or create news. “Familiarity and experience with AI have no influence on willingness to pay. AI amateurs and experts therefore show no difference in their willingness to pay.” Read more 4. How top tech companies define ARR – Substack Calculating annual recurring revenue isn’t as straight forward as you’d think, writes CJ Gustafson on his Substack, noting that the definitions of this important SaaS metric differ wildly from company to company. “You notice that public software companies trade on GAAP revenue. But for private companies it’s multiples of ARR. But somehow that whole thing has to translate into GAAP revenue when you go public. When you are private, they just take the best possible approximation and juice it.” Read more |
