Spotify has acquired music database WhoSampled, which provides information about song covers, samples and remixes.
The music streaming company quietly announced the acquisition in a blog post Wednesday (November 18) in which it unveiled a number of new song credit features, including an upcoming ‘SongDNA’ function for Premium users, which Spotify said will be “powered by WhoSampled, which is now part of Spotify.”
London-headquartered WhoSampled confirmed in a statement on its website that it has been acquired by Spotify.
“This marks an exciting new chapter in our journey – one where WhoSampled will not only continue to grow and improve, but also bring its unique flavor of music discovery to the world’s largest music streaming platform, used and loved by hundreds of millions of fans,” the company said.
It didn’t disclose the acquisition’s value. In a LinkedIn post, WhoSampled Founder Nadav Poraz said he will be taking on the role of Head of WhoSampled at Spotify.
MBW has reached out to Spotify for comment.
Though its database is being integrated into the Spotify platform, WhoSampled said it will continue to function as a standalone app.
The company announced some immediate changes, including that its iOS app will now be free to download, and in-app subscriptions on both iOS and Android will now be free.
WhoSampled also said it will become ad-free “in the coming weeks,” and added that its moderation will be faster, with waiting times for submissions expected to drop “dramatically.”
The company added that it will be working with Spotify on “improving the WhoSampled experience and building exciting new features.”
WhoSampled’s statistics show its database indexes more than 1.2 million songs, around 387,000 artists, 622,000 samples and 460,000 covers.
The first WhoSampled-powered function on Spotify will be SongDNA, an interactive feature that maps connections between songs via collaborators, samples and covers. Sample and cover data will come from WhoSampled.
It’s part of a series of enhancements to the data on songs available on Spotify. Other enhancements include expanded song credits, adding session musicians, engineers and other contributors to the credits, which have so far included only top-line performers, songwriters and producers.
Spotify is also planning to roll out ‘About the Song,’ which will be swipeable cards that offer in-depth info about the origins of a track, such as the inspiration behind it or interesting stories about its creation.
Spotify has over the years used acquisitions to build and expand its business. In 2021, it bought audiobook distributor Findaway. Spotify began offering audiobooks in select markets in 2023.
Also as part of its effort to expand audio offerings beyond music, Spotify acquired a series of podcast companies, including Anchor, Gimlet Media and Parcast.
Over the past several years it has focused on AI-related acquisitions, picking up AI voice company in Sonantic in 2022. The following year, it unveiled an AI-powered voice translation tool.
Also in 2022. Spotify acquired Kinzen, a content moderation company that uses AI in its technology. Spotify had been working with the platform since 2020.Music Business Worldwide
