Spotify is shaking up its C-suite amid reports that it will soon be raising the prices on its premium subscriptions again.
The streaming platform announced Thursday that it is appointing Christian Luiga as its new chief financial officer. Luiga currently serves as CFO and deputy CEO at European defense and security company Saab.
Spotify shares popped almost 3% on Thursday following the announcement.
The news comes just days after Bloomberg News reported that the popular audio streaming platform is planning to increase its prices by about $1 to $2 a month by the end of April in several markets, including the U.K., Australia, and Pakistan. The U.S. will also likely see price hikes later this year, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Luiga, who is expected to join Spotify in the third quarter, will be based out of the company’s headquarters in Sweden. Saab said Luiga has a notice period of six months, and will stay with the Swedish defense firm until Oct. 3. Ben Kung, Spotify’s vice president of financial planning and analysis, will serve as its interim CFO in the meantime, Spotify said.
The changes come as Spotify seeks to turn around its lackluster financial performance. While it boasted 236 million paying subscribers and 602 million monthly active users at the end of last year, it has not posted a profit since going public in 2018 — even after implementing its first price increase in 12 years last year.
The audio streamer is looking to new and existing partnerships to boost its offerings — and its bottom line. Late last month, Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG) announced an expansion of their existing partnership that will allow artists to share teasers of upcoming music on Spotify and offer a pre-save option for new releases. And in February, Spotify inked a deal with podcaster Joe Rogan, which is estimated to be worth as much as $250 million, The Wall Street Journal first reported.
Spotify also doubled down on efforts to be a one-stop-shop for all audio media last October, giving Premium members access to more than 150,000 audiobooks on the platform — which are being pointed to as the reason Spotify has to raise prices again.