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Spotify doubled its loss last year
Swedish music service Spotify made a $4.4 million loss last year.
Swedish Spotify, the digital music service said to hold a value of $250 million, made a loss of 31.8 million kronor ($4.4 million) last year, compared to a loss of 16 million kronor the previous year, according to the annual report that was send to the Swedish Companies Registration Office.
The company's sale totaled 725,455 kronor for the Swedish company.
Spotify, legally offering instant access to millions of tracks, is looking to expand in the US and China following the enormous hype in Europe. Launched last year, the music service already has more than a million users in Sweden, and more than six million across Europe.
Spotify declined to comment the figures.
“We don’t comment on financial figures”, said spokeswoman Sophia Bendz to Dagens Media. “We feel that we don’t need to share that information at the moment”.
The company said in the report that 34 persons were employed last year, personnel cost amounted to 22 million kronor and external costs summed up to 10.5 million. As long as the company has negative cash flow its mother company, Spotify SARL in Luxembourg, will support the Swedish branch.
Still, the company is not short of funding. High-profile investors such as Hong Kong-based Li Ka-shing and Brittish venture capital firm Wellington Partners are a short way off investing up to $50 million. That would value Spotify at $250 million, Financial Times wrote.
Record labels such as Sony BMG, Universal Music, Warner Music, EMI and Merlin own a total of 18 percent of Spotify.
According to the company's web site, Spotify employs 75 people in Luxembourg, London and Stockholm. It was formed in 2006 by Swedes Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon.
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Last Updated (Monday, 17 August 2009 20:01)