Spotify To Add $400M At $8.4B Valuation In 7th Round, Unveils “Tweet The Beat” Twitter Spam Feature
Spotify is smartly going back to the funding well prior to the launch of Apple's new music service. But does this $400 million round signal a perennially unprofitable company, and is a new $8.4 billion valuation justified?
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Spotify is close to raising its seventh round of funding, according to the Wall Street Journal. This time Spotify will add $400 million to its war chest at a valuation of $8.4 billion a value twice that of Pandora.
Previous investors Goldman Sachs and the Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund are leading the new round, but other major investors are also expected to join in.
"Tweet The Beat" Or Twitter Spam?
Over the weekend, Spotify began testing a new and rather obtrusive "Tweet the Beat" feature which automatically displays a full screen pop-up with a pre-populated message alongside a button to tweet Rihanna thanking her for her "Bitch Better Have My Money" single.
"What you're seeing is a new feature called Tweet the Beat which lets listeners express love and appreciation towards the artists they follow or listen to often, and has been designed as a great way for fans to get closer to their favourite artists," a Spotify spokesperson told The Verge.
Too big to fail? Has Goldman Sachs too much invested to allow Spotify to go under and does their need to go outside the US and Europe for investors any indication of how tough a sell Spotify is becoming?
Given the disruption Spotify has created in the sale of recorded music and the impact interactive music streaming has had on the industry and individual musicians and songwriters are investors chasing an investment that will have a negative impact on the future of music?