Spotify today announced it has acquired music data platform The Echo Nest, which will continue to operate out of its headquarters in Somerville, Massachusetts, and its offices in San Francisco. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Spotify says it will use The Echo Nest to continue on its path of growing global music consumption and bringing revenue back to the music industry “by building the best user experience and music discovery engine for millions of global fans.” More specifically, Spotify will look to leverage The Echo Nest’s musical understanding and tools for curation, not only to drive better music discovery for users, but also for brands and partners to build better music experiences for their audiences.
For developers wondering about The Echo Nest API, don’t worry: it will remain free and continue to be supported. Both companies say the developer community is crucial to their success and will remain a priority.
Spotify and The Echo Nest have a long history together. Back in March 2012, the two integrated their APIs so that any Spotify app developer could tap into The Echo Nest’s music intelligence technology. In March 2013, Microsoft, Spotify, and The Echo Nest joined forces to create Mixshape, a visual tool that automatically sorts playlists based on the properties and moods of individual songs.
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