British startup Playlists.net, which collects playlists created for streaming music service Spotify, has been acquired by major label Warner Music Group’s WEA subsidiary.
The Newcastle-based company launched in 2009 as ShareMyPlaylists, before rebranding to Playlists.net in 2013. It has aggregated more than 150,000 playlists, while its website and apps were attracting more than 1.1 million users a month by the start of 2014.
WEA has not said how much it paid for Playlists.net, but the company will remain a standalone operation under its founder and chief executive Kieron Donoghue.
“We were approached by WEA earlier in the year to discuss ways in which we could collaborate and it became apparent that there was much to be gained by us joining forces,” he said, as the deal was announced.
Commenting on their acquisition WEA’s senior vice president Larry Mattera said that the deal will boost Playlists.net as an independent site.
“Kieron’s success is due to the fact that he is a huge music fan, and has a uniquely creative take on how to engage other music fans,” he said. “This investment will enable Kieron to expand on his existing formula for success, as well as work to create new music experiences.”
The deal is timely, as playlists and curation are currently buzzwords within the music industry, as services like Spotify – which has more than 40m users including 10m paying subscribers – become more influential in the way music is discovered and marketed.
Playlists.net had been working with several labels on marketing campaigns based around playlists, so it’s an obvious fit for a company like WEA – although rival labels will be watching closely to see how WEA sticks to its commitment to “an independent platform” over the coming months.
