Spotify, Apple Music's main competitor, this morning opened on the New York Stock Exchange at $165.90 per share, valuing the company at $29.5 billion.
When Spotify filed to go public in February, CNBC estimated the company's valuation at ~$23 billion based on private trades that had reached as high as $132.50. Spotify used the $132 per share figure as its reference price, which would have given the company a $23.5 billion valuation.
As noted by TechCrunch, Spotify is not selling its shares on the stock market and is not raising money today. Its direct listing is instead a collection of transactions from existing shareholders selling shares to stock market investors.
Spotify employees are allowed to sell their shares right away, unlike with a traditional IPO, which could lead to volatility in the coming weeks.
As of December 31, 2017, Spotify had 159 million active monthly users and 71 million premium subscribers, which Spotify says is "double the scale" of Apple Music. Apple as of February boasted 36 million paying subscribers.
In an appearance on CBS This Morning, Spotify cofounder and CEO Daniel Ek today discussed the company's public offering and a recent report from The Wall Street Journal suggesting Apple Music is on track to overtake Spotify in U.S. subscribers.
In response, Ek said that because Spotify is twice the size as Apple Music, the company "still has some room." Ek said that he's "very happy" with the growth that Spotify is seeing. The music industry, he says, is too big for Spotify alone.
"What we've found is that when we've got competition, it actually grows the market because more people are now talking about streaming. It's easy to forget that just three years ago, even in the U.S., streaming wasn't a thing," he said.
Update: Spotify closed at $149.60, giving it a market cap of $26.5 billion.
When Spotify filed to go public in February, CNBC estimated the company's valuation at ~$23 billion based on private trades that had reached as high as $132.50. Spotify used the $132 per share figure as its reference price, which would have given the company a $23.5 billion valuation.
As noted by TechCrunch, Spotify is not selling its shares on the stock market and is not raising money today. Its direct listing is instead a collection of transactions from existing shareholders selling shares to stock market investors.
Spotify employees are allowed to sell their shares right away, unlike with a traditional IPO, which could lead to volatility in the coming weeks.
As of December 31, 2017, Spotify had 159 million active monthly users and 71 million premium subscribers, which Spotify says is "double the scale" of Apple Music. Apple as of February boasted 36 million paying subscribers.
In an appearance on CBS This Morning, Spotify cofounder and CEO Daniel Ek today discussed the company's public offering and a recent report from The Wall Street Journal suggesting Apple Music is on track to overtake Spotify in U.S. subscribers.
In response, Ek said that because Spotify is twice the size as Apple Music, the company "still has some room." Ek said that he's "very happy" with the growth that Spotify is seeing. The music industry, he says, is too big for Spotify alone.
"What we've found is that when we've got competition, it actually grows the market because more people are now talking about streaming. It's easy to forget that just three years ago, even in the U.S., streaming wasn't a thing," he said.
Update: Spotify closed at $149.60, giving it a market cap of $26.5 billion.
Tags: Spotify, Apple Music Guide
71 comments
Apple's mobile apps are often first in App Store search results ahead of competitors, according to a new analysis done by The Wall Street Journal.
For basic searches like "maps,"...
Apple plans to release an all-new 16-inch MacBook Pro in October, according to supply chain sources cited by Taiwan's Economic Daily News.
The report claims the 16-inch display will be a...
Apple is widely expected to unveil a trio of new iPhones in September, and 9to5Mac has revealed a few new features we can expect.
First, the report claims all three models will feature a...
Apple earlier this month introduced a surprise update to its MacBook Pro line, overhauling the entry-level 13-inch machine to bring it in line with more expensive models that were updated back in...
Apple is now in advanced talks to purchase Intel's smartphone modem chip business, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with Apple's plans.
A deal that covers a...
Apple's iPhone XR was the best selling iPhone in the third fiscal quarter of 2019, according to new data shared today by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).
The iPhone XS, iPhone...
Apple recently hired Steve MacManus, a former Tesla executive in charge of engineering for car exteriors and interiors, reports Bloomberg.
MacManus joined Tesla at 2015 and has also worked at...
Nearly two weeks ago, Apple disabled the Walkie-Talkie app on the Apple Watch after discovering a bug that could allow the feature to be used to eavesdrop on others.
At the time, Apple said that...
