Spotify confidentially filed IPO documents with the SEC late last month, Axios reports, after months of speculation that the private company would soon be going public. Spotify’s direct listing approach is a shift from traditional initial public offering moves from other tech companies.
Axios says Spotify could begin trading by the end of March if all goes as planned, although a new music publisher lawsuit to the tune of $1.6 billion could be a factor.
Talk of Spotify going public heated up last summer when it crossed the 60 million paid subscriber count. Apple Music, which entered the scene years later, counted half the number of subscribers back in September, although Spotify doesn’t have the healthy iPhone business to prop it up if needed.
Related Stories:
- Meet Spotty, a free upcoming app that brings Spotify offline playback to Apple Watch [Video]
- Sonos rolls out Spotify control with voice using Alexa ahead of delayed HomePod launch
- Spotify again attacks Apple for its gatekeeper-like policies
- Apple Music’s Iovine warns that streaming is ‘not a great business’, Spotify most at risk
