One of the perpetual stories that kept appearing in out 2017 headlines was the lingering question of Spotify and its plan for an IPO. The signs had pointed toward the streaming service pursuing a direct listing. Now, news has emerged that Spotify filed the confidential documents with the SEC to begin the IPO process in the final days of December. Continue Reading
Publisher Wixen has sued Spotify over claims that the streaming service used thousands of songs without the proper license. The suit was filed on December 29 in California federal court. Wixen is looking to recoup damages of at least $1.6 billion plus injunctive relief. The publisher represents titles by several well-known artists, including Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Stevie Nicks. Continue Reading
Spotify’s valuation may have reached $19 billion thanks to private trading. That’s up from a rumored valuation of $16 billion in September. Sources familiar with the trades claimed that the private trades for the streaming music services were happening at a price of more than $4,000 per share. Continue Reading
Several tech companies have pitched the European Commission to request limits on behavior from Apple and Amazon that they claim are anti-competitive. Spotify CEO and Co-founder Daniel Ek and Deezer CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht both signed the letter to EU regulators asking for “a level playing field” that prevents some tech giants from “regularly abusing their advantaged position.” Continue Reading
Kevin Brown is departing Spotify, where he is head of artist and label services UK and international, at the end of the year. He first joined Spotify in 2013 and is one of the most senior industry-facing leaders at the company. During his tenure, Brown helped improve relationships between the company and artists. Continue Reading
Spotify and Tencent Music Entertainment Group announced that they will acquire minority stakes in each other. Tencent Holdings, which owns a majority stake of Tencent Music Entertainment, is also making a separate investment in Spotify and will own a minority stake. This development hit the rumor mill last week. Continue Reading
Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist was one of the streaming service’s first forays into personalized music recommendations. Since its debut in 2015, the setup has changed little: every Monday, the platform presents 30 songs chosen based on each person’s listening habits. Now, Spotify is testing a more hands-on feature for listeners, with an option to mark songs in Discover Weekly that you like or dislike. Continue Reading
Spotify is reportedly in talks with China’s Tencent Holdings about a potential swap of stakes in advance of both companies’ planned public listings. The possible development first appeared in the Wall Street Journal (paywall), which reported that the two businesses trade stakes of up to 10%. Continue Reading
Last year, Spotify tapped into its data troves for a clever marketing campaign. This year, it’s back in action, all themed around resolutions for 2018. The push is dubbed “2018 Goals,” and it again highlights some of the unusual factoids and data points from Spotify listeners. The campaign was developed and executed in-house and covers 18 markets. Continue Reading
Spotify is getting into the festive spirit with a playlist of some exclusive holiday songs. The tracks are all from sessions of Spotify Singles, where performers record a few songs in the streaming service’s studios. Now, Spotify has a collection of these exclusive songs highlighted in the Holiday section. Continue Reading
Spotify for Artists has made a few new additions to the Artist’s Pick feature. This section, which debuted last year, allows a performer to select music to highlight at the top of their Spotify profile with accompanying text. Continue Reading
Spotify has announced plans to move into a new office in London. Not only will the streaming company’s square footage be growing in the UK capital, but so will its workforce. Bloomberg reported that Spotify expects to double its London team over the next two years. Continue Reading