![]() Merlin sold its full 0.5% stake at a time when Spotify’s market cap was bobbing around $26 billion to $28 billion, meaning Merlin banked approximately $135 million for its members. Prior to Spotify going public on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2018, a couple of things happened to change this ratio: First, Universal acquired EMI Music, including the latter firm’s Spotify holding, taking its stake up to 7% second, due to years of additional investment and share issues in Spotify, by the time the streaming service went public, the major record companies’ percentage stakes had been slashed by around half - leaving Universal Music on approximately 3.5%, Sony on 3%, Warner on 2%, and Merlin on 0.5%. Sony BMG (now Sony Music) got the biggest stake of at 6% Universal Music Group got 5% Warner Music Group got 4% EMI Music got 2% Merlin got 1%. It started in 2008 when, according to documented evidence, the major record companies plus indie body Merlin each received equity stakes in Spotify as a result of their licensing agreements with the upstart streaming company. But there’s a case to be made about why they should sell their billions of dollars’ worth in shares - and specifically now. As controversial as it is to talk about in the music industry, major record labels of the world still own sizable chunks in Spotify.
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