A few years ago, The Echo Nest, a self-proclaimed “music intelligence company,” integrated its APIs with Spotify, the music service we know and (might) love. It looks like Spotify didn’t want a slice of the pie, but the entire thing, because it just announced its plans to acquire the service.
Headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, The Echo Nest gives developers the ability to determine what recommendations to make for listeners of their respective streaming radio services. While Spotify currently makes recommendations, this acquisition will further strengthen its “music intelligence,” with Spotify’s strategy to increase revenue for the music industry and increase global music consumption.
“We are hyper focused on creating the best user experience and it starts with building the best music intelligence platform on the planet,” said Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek. “With The Echo Nest joining Spotify, we will make a big leap forward in our quest to play you the best music possible.”
The Echo Nest CEO Jim Lucchese echoed Ek’s sentiments. “Joining forces with Spotify gives us the opportunity to continue [to help fans discover more music] as part of the fastest-growing service in the world,” said Ek. “We’re thrilled to be part of a team equally as passionate about connecting more people with more music.”
Even though The Echo Nest will be acquired by Spotify, it will remain headquartered in Somerville, while its office in San Francisco will continue to operate. Also, for developers wanting to use the company’s API, it will remain free.
This is good for competing music services, such as Rdio, that uses The Echo Nest’s services to power its music recommendations. Now that The Echo Nest is under Spotify, though, we’ll wait and see how long that will last.
