Spotify shares could soon be available to the public, as reports have emerged that the Swedish streaming company filed documents with the SEC (the Securities and Exchange Commission) in late December.
The report first came via Axios, which pointed to a direct listing. Fortune notes this would make Spotify the first company of its size to go public via direct listing.
Opting for a direct listing means that Spotify won't have to go through the elaborate process of an IPO — or, as Fortune put it last year: "If an IPO is like a wedding, a direct listing is running off to elope. A faster, easier, cheaper route to the same result."
According to the latest reports, Spotify is aiming to make shares of the company available to the public within the first quarter on 2018.
The streaming giant is currently valued at $15 billion USD, though it is unclear how a recent $1.6 billion USD lawsuit from Wixen Music Publishing could affect Spotify's plans. The publishing company has alleged that more than 21 percent of the streaming service's 30 million-song catalogue is currently unlicensed.
The report first came via Axios, which pointed to a direct listing. Fortune notes this would make Spotify the first company of its size to go public via direct listing.
Opting for a direct listing means that Spotify won't have to go through the elaborate process of an IPO — or, as Fortune put it last year: "If an IPO is like a wedding, a direct listing is running off to elope. A faster, easier, cheaper route to the same result."
According to the latest reports, Spotify is aiming to make shares of the company available to the public within the first quarter on 2018.
The streaming giant is currently valued at $15 billion USD, though it is unclear how a recent $1.6 billion USD lawsuit from Wixen Music Publishing could affect Spotify's plans. The publishing company has alleged that more than 21 percent of the streaming service's 30 million-song catalogue is currently unlicensed.
