Published on May 17, 2023
NEW YORK, N.Y., May 18, 2023 -- Creatd, Inc. $VOCL; (Upstream: VOCL) ("Creatd" or the "Company"), the parent company of Vocal, today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2023 and a record 150,000 new freemium subscriptions.
Operating results for the three months ending March 31, 2023, reflect the Company’s efforts to right-size operations in preparation for both near- and long-term growth. Overall revenues decreased by 27% as a result of specific strategic decisions management deemed in the Company’s best long term interest, such as reducing dependency on influencer agency businesses. Aggressive pricing to promote Vocal+ annual premium memberships reduced digital subscription revenue but increased expected lifetime value from those same premium subscribers, as well as significantly increasing new freemium sign-ups. In addition, the Company experienced increased retention rates and long-term value. A managed pause in the influencer marketing activity at WHE resulted in a 57% decrease in revenues from this segment, while a 61% increase in overall direct to consumer brand revenue helped to offset the revenue decrease.
These results were achieved while reducing marketing spend by almost 75%. While overall expenses increased period over period, backing out non-cash and non-recurring expenses actually resulted in a 28% decrease in compensation and general & administrative expenses. Compared to the exponential reductions in marketing and general operating expenses, the Company believes that the revenue decrease seen in first quarter 2023 will reverse and grow significantly upon realization of our Q2 recapitalization plan.
Gross revenues were nearly $1.4 million and GAAP-adjusted revenues were $986,145 for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease in quarterly revenue is attributable to a decrease in agency revenues from non-core business divisions and a relatively small loss in subscription revenue, partially offset by an increase in revenue from the Company’s direct to consumer brands.
Commented Jeremy Frommer, Creatd's founder and CEO, “We are making significant strides on several strategic fronts, with a key focus on the organic development of our flagship product, Vocal. Our dedication remains firm in executing plans to either spin out or sell our OG Collection and Creatd Ventures business units. These divisions have received external valuations exceeding the current market capitalization of our company. This suggests that the technology platform, the community of 2 million creators who rely on it, and the audience base that numbers in hundreds of millions within the Vocal community are significantly undervalued."
Forward Looking Statements
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