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Spotify Buys Media Aggregator CrowdAlbum
Music-streaming service Spotify AB on Wednesday said it has acquired CrowdAlbum, a U.S. startup that aggregates photos and videos from artists’ performances shared on social media.
CrowdAlbum, which was founded in 2013 and is based in San Francisco, has been working with over 1,000 artists and venue partners, collecting social posts at their events to create online photo and video albums, the Swedish company said in a news release.
CrowdAlbum partners with artists such as Lil Wayne, Diplo and Fall Out Boy, Spotify said.
The deal, the terms of which weren’t disclosed, highlights Spotify’s attempts to attract more artists to its platform and create closer ties between them and the company, as it faces stiff competition from other subscription streaming services including Apple Music, Tidal and Deezer.
The acquisition would allow Spotify to offer a marketing platform to artists by using social media, providing them with insight in their fans’ reactions and online behavior.
Spotify said CrowdAlbum will join a team at Spotify focused on building products for artists.
In January, Spotify announced the acquisition of social startups Cord, a one-tap voice messaging app built for smartphones, tablets and smartwatches, and Soundwave, a music social networking app that enables users to discover new music and share songs.
Late last year, Spotify introduced two other features to connect artists with their fans. Fan Insights helps artists better understand their Spotify listeners, while musicians can use Concerts to promote shows to fans.
Spotify said the CrowdAlbum deal enables it to help artists find their fans and engage with them, “especially around the ever important business of touring.”
“We’re working every day to find ways to tighten the connection between artists and their fans,” said Vice President of Product Management Charlie Hellman.
Spotify counts around 30 million paying subscribers and more than 80 million free users. The Stockholm-based company recently raised $1 billion in convertible debt from investors.
A spokeswoman for Spotify declined to provide additional comment.
Matthias Verbergt
www.wsj.com
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