Spotify acquires WhoSampled music database for undisclosed sum

Spotify acquired WhoSampled on November 19, 2025, in accordance with bulletins from each corporations, marking a major consolidation within the music expertise sector as streaming platforms develop past audio supply into content material discovery and attribution infrastructure.

The acquisition brings WhoSampled’s database of 1,246,970 songs, 622,026 samples, 460,204 covers, and 140,461 remixes underneath Spotify’s possession. In accordance with the WhoSampled announcement, the platform will proceed working as a standalone model whereas gaining sources to speed up database enlargement and enhance person expertise by way of quicker moderation and enhanced options.

Deal phrases weren’t disclosed, however TechCrunch confirmed the acquisition consists of each WhoSampled’s group and database. WhoSampled employed roughly 10 individuals in accordance with knowledge from PitchBook and LinkedIn on the time of acquisition. Based in London in 2008 by Nadav Poraz, WhoSampled constructed its database by way of neighborhood contributions verified by 54 moderators throughout 40,202 registered contributors.

The acquisition extends Spotify’s sample of buying specialised music expertise corporations to reinforce platform capabilities. Spotify has been expanding its advertising technology infrastructure all through 2025 whereas concurrently growing content material discovery instruments that differentiate its service from rivals like Apple Music and Amazon Music.

Database integration and SongDNA characteristic

WhoSampled’s knowledge will energy a brand new Spotify characteristic known as SongDNA, which the businesses described as bringing music connection exploration instantly inside Spotify’s interface. In accordance with the WhoSampled announcement, SongDNA will allow lots of of hundreds of thousands of listeners worldwide to find relationships between songs they stream and the broader musical ecosystem.

The platform’s database represents over a decade of detailed analysis spanning greater than 1,000 years of musical historical past. Each connection displayed on WhoSampled was contributed by neighborhood members and verified by certified moderators or self-moderating Gold Contributors, in accordance with the corporate’s documentation. This verification course of distinguishes WhoSampled from automated music identification providers.

WhoSampled’s methodology focuses on documenting samples, covers, and remixes with in depth metadata together with the particular musical components sampled, launch dates, and contextual info. The database tracks direct samples taken from unique recordings in addition to interpolations the place melodies or phrases had been replayed reasonably than instantly sampled. In accordance with WhoSampled’s submission pointers, the platform solely accepts samples which can be clearly identifiable and lengthy sufficient to be positively verified.

Spotify introduced a number of speedy enhancements to WhoSampled’s person expertise following the acquisition. Moderation wait instances for neighborhood submissions will lower dramatically, addressing a persistent bottleneck within the platform’s content material verification course of. WhoSampled’s iOS software, beforehand requiring fee, will grow to be free to obtain alongside the present free Android app.

In-app subscriptions on each platforms will grow to be free for all customers within the coming weeks. The WhoSampled web site will take away show ads, leading to quicker load instances and cleaner person interfaces. These adjustments take impact instantly, in accordance with the November 19, 2025 announcement.

The platform’s neighborhood contribution mannequin will proceed unchanged. Contributors earn “Cred” factors for authorized submissions: 10 factors for samples, 3 factors for covers or remixes, and eight factors for information or tales about musical connections. Moderators earn 5 factors for verifying samples and three factors for moderating covers or remixes. This gamification system incentivizes correct contributions whereas sustaining database high quality by way of verification necessities.

Strategic context for streaming platforms

The acquisition arrives as Spotify faces intensifying competitors within the streaming audio market. Apple Music opened a new 15,000-square-foot studio facility in Los Angeles in June 2025 to commemorate its tenth anniversary, signaling continued platform funding in unique content material creation and artist relationships.

Spotify’s advertising revenue grew 8% year-over-year to €419 million in Q1 2025 regardless of broader digital promoting headwinds. The corporate reached 268 million Premium subscribers as of April 2025 and operates with 650 million customers globally throughout free and paid tiers. The platform raised premium subscription prices across multiple markets in August 2025, growing month-to-month prices from €10.99 to €11.99.

WhoSampled’s acquisition supplies Spotify with differentiated content material discovery capabilities that reach past algorithmic playlist era. The database affords concrete, verifiable connections between songs primarily based on musical relationships reasonably than listening patterns or collaborative filtering. This strategy aligns with music fanatic communities that worth understanding musical lineage and affect networks.

The timing coincides with broader platform consolidation traits throughout advertising and marketing expertise and media sectors. Salesforce acquired enterprise search startup Doti in November 2025 to strengthen AI capabilities. HubSpot entered an agreement to acquire XFunnel on October 31, 2025, to deal with altering buyer discovery patterns as individuals more and more obtain solutions instantly from giant language fashions.

Trade recognition and knowledge purposes

WhoSampled established itself because the authoritative supply for pattern identification earlier than the acquisition. The platform’s knowledge powers advertising and marketing campaigns by main file labels together with Common Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group. Tutorial establishments together with NYU, Berklee School of Music, and Tufts College make the most of WhoSampled knowledge for analysis functions.

Tons of of educational papers have cited WhoSampled as a knowledge supply. The platform acquired recognition from expertise and music publications together with placement as a Better of Yr choice by Apple and inclusion in The Guardian’s 25 Finest Android Apps listing. Music Ally Digital Music Awards named WhoSampled Finest Music App.

The database’s most sampled observe is “Amen, Brother” by the Winstons, which has been sampled in additional than 6,600 songs. The six-second drum break from this 1969 recording grew to become foundational to quite a few musical genres together with jungle, drum and bass, and hip-hop. WhoSampled’s documentation of such influential samples supplies precious context for understanding style growth and musical innovation.

Technical integration and partnership historical past

WhoSampled beforehand partnered with Spotify in 2016, permitting customers to entry their Spotify playlists and saved tracks throughout the WhoSampled cell software. This integration demonstrated technical compatibility between the platforms earlier than the acquisition. The partnership additionally enabled WhoSampled customers to stream songs instantly from Spotify whereas exploring pattern relationships.

In 2015, WhoSampled added assist for movie and tv clips, increasing past music-only samples. The platform paperwork samples from motion pictures and TV exhibits, together with scene descriptions, actor credit, and launch info. This enlargement enabled monitoring of cultural references and audio snippets utilized in music manufacturing from visible media sources.

The platform launched 6D in 2016, a six levels of separation-inspired recreation monitoring relationships between artists, producers, and tracks. The characteristic gamified music discovery by difficult customers to seek out connection paths between seemingly unrelated artists by way of their sampling relationships and collaborations.

Implications for advertising and marketing and promoting expertise

The acquisition demonstrates how streaming platforms are investing in content material metadata and attribution infrastructure. As audio promoting grows 23.6% yearly in accordance with Australian market knowledge, platforms require refined content material understanding to match ads with applicable content material contexts and viewers segments.

WhoSampled’s database supplies granular content material classification that extends past style tags or temper descriptors. The platform paperwork particular musical components, instrumentation, and inventive methods utilized in recordings. This metadata might allow extra exact contextual promoting focusing on primarily based on musical traits reasonably than broad style classes.

Spotify’s advertising platform has been expanding programmatic capabilities, launching Spotify Advert Change partnerships past The Commerce Desk to incorporate demand-side platforms resembling Google’s DV360 and LiveRamp. The platform’s ad-supported section gross margin reached 15.3% in Q1 2025, up 885 foundation factors year-over-year.

Music attribution knowledge might inform content material advice techniques that drive engagement metrics advertisers worth. Understanding which songs comprise samples from particular eras or genres permits playlist curation that maintains stylistic coherence whereas introducing customers to new artists. This stability between familiarity and discovery impacts listening session length and promoting stock monetization.

Group reception and platform governance considerations

The WhoSampled neighborhood expressed blended reactions to the acquisition announcement. Person feedback on the platform questioned whether or not Spotify’s possession would profit long-term platform growth given the streaming service’s enterprise practices round artist compensation and AI-generated music investments.

One commenter famous considerations about supporting a platform “that’s actively investing (and most significantly grossly profiting from-) AI music” and “grossly underpaying artists.” One other requested “So when is Spotify shutting WhoSampled of?” referencing historic patterns the place expertise corporations purchase and subsequently discontinue competing providers.

The WhoSampled group addressed these considerations by emphasizing the platform’s standalone operation and community-driven mannequin will proceed. In accordance with the announcement, “the WhoSampled and love is right here to remain as a standalone platform and model. It’s going to proceed to function a lot because it at all times has, powered by the eagerness of our unimaginable neighborhood of contributors world wide.”

Moderator independence and content material verification requirements will decide whether or not neighborhood belief persists following possession adjustments. WhoSampled’s worth derives from contributor experience and verification rigor reasonably than automated knowledge assortment. Sustaining these requirements whereas scaling moderation capability presents operational challenges for the expanded platform.

Market positioning and aggressive panorama

WhoSampled operates in a specialised area of interest distinct from broader music identification providers like Shazam or SoundHound. Whereas these platforms determine songs enjoying in bodily environments, WhoSampled paperwork relationships between recordings. SecondHandSongs supplies comparable performance for canopy track monitoring however focuses much less extensively on hip-hop and digital music sampling traditions.

Discogs affords complete discography info and market performance for bodily recordings. Pandora Radio makes use of Music Genome Challenge taxonomy for advice techniques primarily based on musical traits. WhoSampled’s differentiation comes from community-sourced relationship mapping reasonably than algorithmic evaluation or market transactions.

The acquisition removes WhoSampled as a possible acquisition goal for competing streaming platforms. Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal lack comparable pattern documentation capabilities. WhoSampled’s integration into Spotify creates platform differentiation in content material discovery that rivals should now replicate by way of inner growth or various acquisitions.

Spotify’s competitive positioning includes recent initiatives like lossless audio streaming launched in September 2025, offering 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC high quality to Premium subscribers. The platform additionally expanded audiobook access to five Nordic countries in November 2025, demonstrating continued content material class enlargement past music streaming.

Future growth and integration roadmap

Spotify and WhoSampled acknowledged they’re “already engaged on progressive methods to discover music connections instantly inside Spotify.” The SongDNA characteristic represents the primary introduced integration, however the corporations indicated extra options will comply with. Particular implementation timelines past SongDNA weren’t disclosed within the November 19, 2025 bulletins.

Potential purposes embrace enhanced artist pages displaying which songs sampled their work, playlist era primarily based on pattern relationships, and academic content material explaining sampling historical past and methods. The database might energy interactive visualizations of style growth by way of sampling lineages or spotlight regional musical exchanges documented by way of pattern utilization patterns.

WhoSampled’s movie and tv pattern documentation might combine with Spotify’s podcast and video content material initiatives. The platform tracks audio clips from motion pictures and TV exhibits utilized in music manufacturing, creating potential connections between Spotify’s increasing video catalog and its music library.

The acquisition supplies Spotify with specialised expertise in music metadata, neighborhood administration, and content material verification techniques. These capabilities prolong past WhoSampled’s speedy product to tell broader platform growth in areas the place human curation and knowledgeable verification add worth that automated techniques can’t replicate.

Timeline

Abstract

Who: Spotify acquired WhoSampled, the London-based music database based by Nadav Poraz in 2008. The transaction consists of WhoSampled’s group of roughly 10 workers and its neighborhood of 40,202 contributors and 54 moderators who constructed the platform’s complete database over 17 years.

What: The acquisition brings WhoSampled’s database of 1,246,970 songs, 622,026 samples, 460,204 covers, and 140,461 remixes underneath Spotify’s possession. WhoSampled will proceed working as a standalone platform and model whereas gaining sources for quicker moderation, free cell purposes, and ad-free web site expertise. The information will energy Spotify’s new SongDNA characteristic for exploring music connections throughout the streaming interface.

When: Spotify introduced the acquisition on November 19, 2025. The deal represents WhoSampled’s first exit after 17 years of impartial operation. Speedy platform enhancements together with free apps and quicker moderation started rolling out at announcement, whereas SongDNA characteristic integration timeline was not specified past “upcoming” standing.

The place: The acquisition impacts WhoSampled’s operations globally, although the corporate was based and stays primarily based in London, England. Spotify operates worldwide with 650 million customers throughout free and paid tiers, positioning WhoSampled’s database to succeed in lots of of hundreds of thousands of listeners by way of the SongDNA integration throughout Spotify’s worldwide markets.

Why: The acquisition addresses Spotify’s strategic want for differentiated content material discovery capabilities past algorithmic suggestions as streaming platforms intensify competitors for person engagement and premium subscriptions. WhoSampled’s verified music relationship knowledge permits concrete, instructional connections between songs that align with music fanatic values whereas offering Spotify with specialised metadata doubtlessly relevant to contextual promoting focusing on and playlist curation techniques.