Spotify has acquired the community-run WhoSampled database that tracks music samples the company announced Wednesday. The streaming service also shared the news on Wednesday blog entry about new song credits features.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Spotify confirmed to TechCrunch that the acquisition includes both the WhoSampled team and the database. (The company had only a handful of employees, according to PitchBook and LinkedIn records, which confirm the company had about 10 employees.)
Launched in 2008, London-based WhoSampled offers an extensive database of songs, samples, covers, remixes, artists and more. According to the website, he currently tracks over 1.2 million songs and nearly 622,000 samples. This data powers Spotify's newest features, such as its SongDNA music discovery tool announced on Wednesday.
However, WhoSampled has been known to Spotify for some time because of its collaboration with the streamer in 2016 to allow users to access Spotify playlists and saved songs within their app.
In WhoSampled announcement In connection with the acquisition, the company stated that its standalone platform and brand will remain after the deal closes and it expects to offer some improvements visible to users as it becomes part of the larger Spotify business. For example, the company said that reporting moderation times will be reduced, the site will be able to remove display ads in the coming weeks, and its mobile apps will be available for free download as part of free subscriptions.
“Through our recent conversations with Spotify, it has become clear that we share a strong belief in the power of musical context and a vision to help listeners delve deeper into the songs they love,” reads a post written by the WhoSampled team. “Spotify has shown true commitment to our mission, and we couldn't find a better place for WhoSampled,” he said.
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