Spotify chief insists the company is not for sale
The founder and chief executive of music streaming service Spotify said on Thursday that he will not sell the company.
Speaking at a music and technology symposium in Stockholm, Daniel Ek said: “I’m not going to sell, no”.
Investors have speculated that Spotify, which is privately owned, will be made public. The loss-making company is a prime target to be taken over by a Silicon Valley giant.
The company made an operating loss of €184.5 last year, increasing from €165.1m in 2014, even as revenue rose 80% to €1.95bn. Spotify pays over 80% of its revenue to record labels and artists and is yet to show a profit.
However, Ek stressed the importance for European technology start-ups not to concede to Silicon Valley as Europe has the resources and ambition to nurture entrepreneurs.
Ek said: “My selfish ambition with Spotify is just trying to show… that we can create one of those super companies here in Europe.
"For the first time now there's an ecosystem around it with capital and experience that can actually help guide entrepreneurs."
He added: "The number one advice I tell everyone is 'don't sell', because that's the biggest problem we have. All these things could grow gigantic if you just kept the course and kept doing what you're doing.”
Spotify, founded in Stockholm in 2006, has 30m subscribers, the biggest in the world for a digital music service. It faces competition from US companies Apple Music, Google Music and YouTube.