Daniel Ek, founder and CEO of Spotify, has often been quoted taking the long view of the streaming music industry, and the destiny of his company. Today is a milestone in Spotify’s business history, as SPOT begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Memorializing the moment, Ek posted a letter on his company’s internal blog. “We are only in the second inning,” he said. Continue Reading
Spotify has been making strides into the podcasting space, and its latest new creation comes in collaboration with Genius. The lyrics-focused company, previously named Rap Genius, is working with Spotify on a podcast called Déjà Vu. Continue Reading
Spotify has shared a financial outlook for 2018, and the projection includes some very large numbers for the streaming service. In the first quarter of 2018, the company said it expects to see between 168 million and 171 million monthly active users. Continue Reading
8tracks has announced a new integration with Spotify. In the latest version of the 8tracks iOS app, listeners’ favorited tracks can be automatically saved to a dedicated Spotify playlist. With this “8tracks Discoveries” playlist, people can revisit their finds on-demand. Continue Reading
Songwriters and composers in the UK are making a push for music publishers to include them in their recent licensing negotiations. Ahead of Spotify’s direct listening date, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors is calling on publishers to commit to sharing proceeds from their sales of stock in the streaming music company. Continue Reading
Spotify has hired Tom Connaughton as its head of artist and label marketing for the UK. Connaughton previously worked at Vevo, most recently as the video company’s senior vice president of creative content and programming. Continue Reading
Spotify is expanding the beta test of its self-serve advertising platform. After an initial launch in the United States in September, the streaming music company is opening the beta trial of Spotify Ad Studio to Canada and the UK. Continue Reading
Accurate metadata is a critical component in streaming music. It’s how the correct people get paid the correct amounts, plus how listeners can find exactly what they want. Spotify has launched an effort to start crowd-sourcing some metadata from its listeners. Continue Reading
Podcast hosting platform Podomatic announced a new distribution option for its shows. Independent podcasts on Podomatic now have the option of being available to listeners on Spotify. Continue Reading
Spotify’s direct listing is nearing its next stage, with sources reporting that it plans to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange the week of April 2. That leaves a few weeks for the streaming music company to prepare for the non-traditional approach to going public. It’s also moving forward with plans for international expansion. Continue Reading
Pandora continues to top the awareness of audio brands in the Infinite Dial 2018. The audio company had 85% awareness among the respondents. iHeartRadio rated second in awareness at 67%, followed by Spotify at 65%. Both Apple Music and Amazon Music clocked in with 60%. Continue Reading
Spotify’s latest strides toward a direct public offering has led to some speculation around how the labels that own stakes in the streaming company will distribute their windfall. But independent artists and labels are looking for more assurance that they won’t be shortchanged. Continue Reading