Spotify reportedly filed to go public confidentially

Looks like its latest legal trouble isn’t stopping Spotify from going public. New report claims Spotify has already filed confidentially to go public and did so with the SEC at the end of the year. It’s been rumoured for a while that the music streaming company wanted to debut for the first quarter of this year and this report just lines up with that. Spotify is said to be taking a more unusual route and would be a “direct listing” instead of being a traditional IPO. It’s said they’re exploring the possibility of listing on the stock market without the fundraising event.

With a direct listing this means everyone gets equal opportunity to buy shares, whether you’re an average investor or one lined to large institutions. This could mean less fees for Spotify and the possibility of higher revenue from selling shares in the long run, at least theoretically. But this could also mean increased volatility and smaller short term returns.

Source: Gizmodo

Snapchat might be bringing Stories to the web

Snapchat is looking to snap up more users or at least encourage its existing user base to do use its service more. It’s being reported that the social network is working on bringing its Stories Everywhere to the web or on other apps. It’ll be an embedded web player that would help increase exposure to snaps and hopefully encourage people to download the app or at least watch content from the service. Snapchat has been struggling to attract new users, so it needs to extend beyond its walls. If there’s any truth to these rumours, it’ll give them an advantage over Facebook and Instagram since both don’t offer embedded stories just yet. But with Facebook known to quickly copy Snapchat features, we aren’t sure if that advantage will last long. Snap is refusing to comment on the report.

Source: Engadget

Apple reportedly buying Shazam, deal might be announced on December 11

Apple is supposedly finalizing a deal with the company behind the music recognition app Shazam to buy the latter for a rumoured amount of US$401 million. The deal will reportedly be finalized over the weekend with the deal being officially announced on December 11, Monday. Shazam currently already integrates with Apple’s Siri and Apple Music—on top of working with Spotify and Snapchat as well. Both companies haven’t commented on the report. What this potential deal could mean to the other services Shazam is available on we can’t say. For now, we just have to wait for confirmation that this deal pushed through.

Source: NME

Google rumoured to launch new YouTube Remix music streaming service as early as March 2018

Google seems to be taking the fight to Spotify with plans to merge YouTube Red and Play Music. These plans have been divulged by the company back in July but we haven’t heard much about it. Now, it seems the new service, which has been internally called “Remix,” might be coming as early as March 2018. The service is described as “Spotify-like on-demand streaming and would incorporate elements from YouTube, such as video clips.” It makes sense for us to have these two services merged as a Play Music subscription already gives you access to ad-free YouTube content and Red originals, might as well put them in one less confusing service.

According to Bloomberg’s report, there is a possibility of Play Music taking a backseat to YouTube here, which will follow internal structuring where much of the Play Music team has been moved to work on YouTube-related projects. If it does launch by March, Google would need to get the music industry bigwigs to be on board. It has been reported that the record industry heads aren’t happy with the minimal revenue being generated by YouTube music videos. This move might appease them. Warner Music Group is reportedly on board already but Google is still negotiating with the likes of Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and independent labels.

Source: Android Authority