Exclusive: Spotify is launching in Russia next week – Music Business Worldwide

When called by MBW today, a Spotify representative declined to comment on our story.
Spotifys arrival in Russia will take the platform into its 80th country worldwide. Next on SPOTs international program, state MBWs sources, is a launch in South Korea.
On Spotifys Q1 profits employ April, the companys CEO, Daniel Ek, was asked by analysts when Spotify may arrive in both Russia and South Korea.
Ek commented: “Weve talked about both Russia and South Korea as the marketplaces we wish to be in and nothing has altered there … So while we have absolutely nothing to announce at this moment, you must understand theyre certainly 2 markets that we are focused on, and all the [monetary] assistance that we offered consists of the timing of any new market launches, whether it be South Korea, Russia, or anything else.”.
The news of Spotifys imminent launch in Russia comes after a flurry of positive news for the company concerning its share cost.
At the time of publication (12.30 pm ET), Spotify is bring a $270.87 share cost, which translates into a market cap evaluation in excess of $50bn.

” Weve spoken about both Russia and South Korea as the marketplaces we desire to remain in and absolutely nothing has actually changed there.”
Daniel Ek, Spotify (speaking in April).

Spotifys launch in Russia will present an obstacle to Russias Facebook, VKontakte, which is a popular source of streaming music in the territory.Music Business Worldwide.

Spotifys long-awaited launch in Russia will arrive next Wednesday (July 15), Music Business Worldwide can reveal.
Multiple senior music industry sources have actually told us that will be the date when SPOT executes its first major worldwide growth for 16 months, following its launch in India in February 2019.
MBWs sources even more suggest that Spotify is most likely to partner with regional telco MTS for its Russia launch.
Russia is house to a population of approximately 144m individuals, including an approximated 95m+ mobile phone owners.
According to IFPI stats, Russia was the fastest-growing major market globally for the record industry in 2019, with a 50.3% revenue boost year-on-year.
That pushed the quantity of money created for record labels and artists in Russia above $170m in 2015, making it the worlds 17th biggest music market.