Spotify has acquired two companies, Cord Project and Soundwave, for an undisclosed fee.
The latter seems a fairly obvious choice: Soundwave, founded in Dublin in 2012, says it is ‘focused on developing innovative technology and products to aid music discovery’.
The firm’s music social networking app ‘helps users to discover new music, share songs, and connect with like-minded music fans’, and has been downloaded more than 1.5m times in 190 countries.
The more intriguing question: why has Spotify bought Cord Project?
Founded in New York in 2014, the firm’s flagship product, Cord, is a simple, one tap voice messaging platform built for phones, tablets, and watches on iOS and Android.
It’s basically like WhatsApp – but rather than pinging pictures and text to your friends, Cord encourages you to record and send audio clips.
‘Somewhere along the way, voice was left out of how we ‘talk’ on our phones,’ goes the firm’s marketing pitch.
‘So we’re combining the power of voice with everything we love about messaging today. At Cord Project, we’re building something new to get people talking again.’
“We combine the power of voice with everything we love about messaging today.”
Cord project
Now, in a statement, Spotify has said: “We are excited about the talent the Cord team brings to Spotify especially as it relates to design and audio experiences. This acquisition is not specifically about voice messaging and there are no plans to enter that space.”
If not voice messaging then… some kind of other audio messaging? Or perhaps communal listening online?
Cord currently counts over one million users around the world.
Cord Project’s other platforms include Chhirp, a mic button for Twitter, and Shhout!, which allows users to ‘broadcast’ voice messages to their friends simultaneously.
Under Spotify, the Cord team will remain in New York where they are said to be ‘building a new product group that will focus on creating compelling content experiences’.
If Spotify is getting into the mobile messaging world, even with a unique audio twist, it’s going up against some Goliaths.
Facebook messenger now has 800m unique users, while WhatsApp – also owned by Facebook – has 990m.
“Spotify is laser focused on delivering innovative and engaging music discovery experiences to delight our millions of users”, said Shiva Rajaraman, Spotify’s VP of Product.
“The acquisitions of both Cord Project and Soundwave give us the opportunity to bring two extremely talented and like-minded teams into the Spotify family.
“We’re excited to welcome them on board, and are looking forward to their contributions in shaping the future of music engagement.”
Music Business Worldwide
