Spotify job listing implies IPO prep

Yesterday afternoon, Reuters spotted a Spotify job listing containing language which implied that the music subscription company was preparing to go public with an initial public offering (IPO). The job opening was for a financial reporting specialist, with a requirement of expertise in preparing SEC-ready statements. The listing remains posted, but references to the SEC have been removed.

Reuters reports that financial analysts who have seen the listing think it indicates lead-up to an IPO.

The buzz building around this speculation today is an extension of past predictions from many quarters. It is impossible for any market observer in the music-service sector to ignore the dramatic value growth of Pandora stock, which gained over 200 percent in the last year. Pandora enjoys a market capitalization in the neighborhood of $7-billion.

Reuters reports one analyst guessing that a public-market release of Spotify stock could land that company in the same valuation arena, perhaps at $8-billion. Spotify landed new venture funding of $250-million last November, bringing its total private finding to $538-million. At that time, the company’s valuation was pegged at $4-billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Pandora investors might consider the Spotify-IPO rumor a bullish sign for the sector generally; P stock spiked upward this morning by 3.5%.