Skip to main content

Spotify to go Public on New York Stock Exchange

Valued up to $23 billion…

Spotify filed a prospectus to sell shares on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday 28th February. A direct listing of its shares, no new stock will be issued. The shares will be traded under the SPOT symbol; however, no definitive date for the trading has been confirmed.

Reporting $5 billion in revenue for 2017, up 38.6 percent from the year before, Spotify is being valued as high as $23 billion ($US). That valuation is up $7 billion in only five months.

Additionally, the prospectus reports the streaming service had 159 million active users by the end of 2017, with 71 million paying for subscriptions.

Despite the increase in earnings, massive licencing expenses continue to keep the company at a net loss. Spotify lost $1.5 billion in 2017, up from $650 million in 2016. The company has paid more than $10 billion in music royalties since its inception in Sweden in 2008.

The company’s two founders, Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon hold the majority of the company’s voting power. Ek with 37.3 percent and Lorentzon with 43.1 percent. Sony holds the largest voting share of any record label, at 5.7 percent.

Volatility of the stocks, due to the choice of direct listing versus initial public offering (IPO), are expected to be comparatively high.

In early February, details emerged that Apple Music had overtaken Spotify in the US. Nonetheless, Spotify still leads across the globe.  

Further details on the announcement are available via the New York Times.