Music streaming service Spotify has reportedly closed a $526 million round of funding, valuing the company at about $8.5 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Part of the funding comes from Swedish telecom operator TeliaSonera, which announced it’s investing $115 million in Spotify for a 1.4% stake in the company. TeliaSonera said in a release that both companies are committing resources, staff and other assets to the joint venture that will work to innovate in areas including media distribution, customer insights, data analytics and advertising. Johan Dennelind, president and CEO of TeliaSonera said in a statement, ‘We’ve set-out to create a New Generation Telco where innovation is key to our success. Spotify is a great company, loved by customers and with a world class take on innovation I’m excited to join Spotify’s journey as investor and key partner.’ According to TeliaSonera, its investment follows more than five years of partnership with Spotify. Daniel Ek, chief executive officer and founder of Spotify said, ‘We have a long and great relationship with TeliaSonera and I’m pleased we’re able to take this to the next level together with this strategic partnership.’
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