Next week, Spotify plans to (finally) list publicly on the New York Stock Exchange.
It’s a huge moment for Spotify’s founding team, and perhaps an even bigger moment for all of us in the music industry. Spotify’s transformative success has helped usher in a new era for music—and this era will be marked by growth.
Per a recent report, the music industry is in its second year of double-digit growth and has hit its highest revenue mark in a decade, thanks to the streaming space.
Of course, these changes have not come without presenting real challenges to artists, labels, and everyone else who does business in the music space, Spotify included. As Spotify enters this new chapter, they’ll face tremendous pressures from Apple and YouTube, who have scooped up industry vets like Lyor Cohen, the former CEO of Warner Music, to better navigate the music vertical.
I’m a big believer in Spotify’s potential, and not just because they are a former NUE client. Spotify, like us, is agnostic and not as beholden to agendas outside of its own. It’s the clear innovator in the digital music space and the company has always operated with its users’ best interests in mind. They represent hope and growth, much like Netflix does for TV.
I built my career in music while the industry was in a downward spiral. Having a digital music innovator listed as a publicly-traded company is a win for me and everyone else who appreciates the intersection of tech, music, and culture.
Congrats to the team at Spotify on the next episode.
– Jesse K
Also published on Medium.