Spotify is said to be preparing to go public after the company appointed four new directors to its board and settled a multi-million dollar copyright lawsuit.
Tom Staggs, Walt Disney’s former chief operating officer, will join Spotify’s board subject to shareholder approval according to The Financial Times, along with YouTube’s former head of product Shishir Mehrotra, Chinese electric carmaker NextEV’s US CEO Padmasree Warrior, and the principal owner of Swedish investment firm Kinnevik, Cristina Stenbeck.
The streaming music company also reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit with songwriters last week which will see a US$43.4 million fund established to properly compensate for compositions used by Spotify.
Both moves are believed to be in preparation for a stock market listing.
Earlier this month, the streaming music company was said to be considering a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange later this year instead of an IPO according to a report by The New York Times.
Spotify currently has over 100 million active users, around half of which are paying subscribers to Spotify Premium, which costs $11.99 a month in Australia.
