Spotify Buys WhoSampled to Expand Music Discovery
▼ Summary
– Spotify has acquired the music database WhoSampled, including its team and data, as announced in a blog post on Wednesday.
– WhoSampled, launched in 2008, tracks over 1.2 million songs and 622,000 samples, which will support Spotify’s new features like SongDNA.
– The companies had a prior partnership since 2016, allowing WhoSampled users to access Spotify playlists and saved tracks.
– WhoSampled will continue as a standalone platform with improvements, such as faster moderation, ad removal, and free mobile app downloads.
– WhoSampled stated that Spotify shares its vision for musical context and is committed to its mission, making it an ideal home.
Spotify has officially purchased WhoSampled, the popular community-driven platform that tracks music samples, covers, and remixes. This strategic move, announced in a recent company blog post, aligns with the streaming giant’s ongoing efforts to enhance music discovery and provide deeper song context for its listeners. While specific financial details remain confidential, Spotify confirmed the acquisition includes both the WhoSampled team and its comprehensive database.
Founded in London back in 2008, WhoSampled has grown into an authoritative resource for music enthusiasts. Its database now catalogs an impressive collection of over 1.2 million songs and close to 622,000 individual samples. This rich repository of musical connections is already being integrated into Spotify’s ecosystem, directly fueling new features like the recently announced SongDNA music discovery tool.
The two companies are not new partners. WhoSampled first collaborated with Spotify in 2016, enabling its users to import their Spotify playlists and saved tracks directly into the WhoSampled application. This longstanding relationship paved the way for the deeper integration that an acquisition allows.
According to the official announcement from WhoSampled, its standalone platform and brand identity will continue to operate independently. Users can expect several immediate benefits from the new ownership. The company has committed to speeding up the moderation process for user submissions. In the coming weeks, display advertisements will be removed from the site. Furthermore, its mobile applications will transition to a free download model with complimentary subscriptions.
In a statement, the WhoSampled team expressed strong alignment with Spotify’s vision. They highlighted a shared belief in the importance of musical context and a joint goal of helping listeners explore the deeper stories behind the music they enjoy. The post described Spotify as demonstrating a “genuine commitment to our mission,” concluding that they “couldn’t have found a better home for WhoSampled.”
(Source: TechCrunch)
