(CelebrityAccess) – According to Tuesday’s earnings call, Warner Music Group has sold its final equity stake in Spotify realizing $504 million in proceeds. WMG CEO Steve Cooper also revealed that an estimated $126 million will be credited to Warner artists as a result of the sale.
While it was only 3 months ago that Warner sold 75% of its stake in Spotify, Cooper was quick to note that the sale of the remaining equity does not reflect a lack of confidence in the streaming giant.
“Just so there won’t be any misinterpretation about the rationale for our decision to sell, let me be clear: we’re a music company, and not, by our nature, long-term holders of publicly traded equity,” he said. “This sale has nothing to do with our view of Spotify’s future. We’re hugely optimistic about the growth of subscription streaming, we know it has only just begun to fulfill its potential for global scale. We fully expect Spotify to continue to play a major role in that growth.”
Cooper added: “While Apple and Spotify continue to grow their global subscriber numbers, Amazon and YouTube are both off to a great start with their premium services. This increased competition is good news for our business, and we’re happy to see other large tech companies, such as Facebook, begin to recognize the true value that music brings to their platforms.”
