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Spotify Makes Stock Market Debut, Valuing Company at $30 Billion

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Spotify has begin trading at NYSE.

Spotify debuted at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, pushing the company's market value to just under $30 billion.

The platform's first public trade as part of its direct listing on the NYSE was executed at 12:45 p.m EST that afternoon. At halfway through the trading day, this made the record for the latest opening time for a public debut.

READMusic Streaming Giant Spotify Files to Go Public

The digital music company opened at $165.90. Shortly after, shares fell to a little above $160. The figure was reportedly higher than expected after the NYSE had set a reference price of $132 and shares were expected to trade as high as $155.

According to TechCrunch, Spotify isn’t selling its shares on the stock market. This means the company isn’t raising any money today but, instead, they're practicing “direct listing”— indicating a collection of transactions from existing shareholders, like employees and investors, selling shares directly to stock market investors.

In the recent past, Spotify has warned that initial trading could be volatile. "Normally, companies don’t pursue a direct listing. While I appreciate that this path makes sense for most, Spotify has never been a normal kind of company," Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said in a blog post Monday. "Our focus isn’t on the initial splash. Instead, we will be working on trying to build, plan, and imagine for the long term."

In terms of Spotify’s stock market performance in the long-run, some investors are concerned that the company will run the course of its competitor Pandora, which was left struggling partly due to hefty artist fees. Others argue that Spotify could end up presenting itself as a Netflix, which has been successful in entertainment licensing agreements.

READ: Grime Is Now Recognized As An Official Genre

According to Billboard, Spotify has 71 million worldwide subscribers so far and is aiming to increase that number to as many as 96 million by the end of 2018. By comparison, Apple’s music streaming service is nearly 3-year-old with 38 million subscribers. Other competitors like Google and Amazon also offer similar streaming services, posing competition.