Warner Music Group has sold all its shares in music streaming service Spotify for $504 million. The company will share $126 million of the raised money with artists and record labels that can be found on the streaming service, according to CEO Steve Cooper.
Earlier this year, Warner already sold 75% of its Spotify equity for $400 million. The remaining shares were sold at $104 million.
After the previous sale in May this year Cooper emphasized that Warner Music Group has full confidence in Spotify. “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.”
Also Sony sold part of its Spotify shares this year. The company gained $260 million for about 17% of its shares.
