It may have moved slightly away from it in recent years, but when Spotify first launched, it had a major focus on making the experience of listening to music a social one. Now it seems the company may be looking to return to its social-oriented roots.
Spotify announced today that it has acquired two companies, both of which had created social apps, but only one had anything to do with music. Soundwave is a social music app that helps users discover and share music, connecting with other fans in the process. Cord Project, on the other hand, is best known for Cord, a voice messaging platform for mobile devices.
“Spotify is laser-focused on delivering innovative and engaging music discovery experiences to delight our millions of users,” company VP of product Shiva Rajaraman said. “The acquisitions of both Cord Project and Soundwave give us the opportunity to bring two extremely talented and like-minded teams into the Spotify family. We’re excited to welcome them on board, and are looking forward to their contributions in shaping the future of music engagement.”
Beyond the quote above, Spotify is keeping mum on what it actually plans to do with these two acquisitions. It could simply be about acquiring talent, which Rajaraman’s statement points to, but companies don’t generally buy tech and then throw it away.
Assuming the tech is why the companies were acquired, what Soundwave brings to the table is immediately clear. For Cord Project, things are more up in the air, but the press release says that the team will remain located in New York, and will “build a new product group that will focus on creating compelling content experiences.”
Soundwave was founded in Dublin in 2012, and its app was downloaded over 1.5 million times, across 190 countries and 15 languages. Cord Project is a newer company, founded in 2014, and its Cord app boasts over 1 million users.
