Two big music labels have between them sold more than a billion dollar’s worth of their shares in Spotify, but one of them said that this move doesn’t reflect any concerns about the future of the company …
Re/code reports that Sony sold around half its shares in the company for about $750M, while Warner Music Group sold 75% of its own stake for roughly $400M.
The site says that Warner made a statement on the sale, though it carries no comment from Sony.
Warner CEO Steve Cooper made the disclosure during the company’s earnings call this morning, and made a point of saying the sale doesn’t reflect any pessimism about Spotify’s potential. Warner, along with Sony and Universal Music Group, captures the bulk of the revenue Spotify generates, so it has a vested interest in its success.
“We’re a music company, and not, by our nature, long-term holders of publicly traded equity. This sale has nothing to do with our view of Spotify’s future,” Cooper said, via prepared remarks, during the call. “We’re hugely optimistic about the growth of subscription streaming. We know it has only just begun to fulfill its potential for global scale. We fully expect Spotify to continue to play a major role in that growth.”
Warner and other labels selling Spotify shares have pledged to share some of the proceeds with musicians and songwriters.
Spotify has lost around 10% of its $30 billion valuation since it went public last month.
Image: Neowin
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