Spotify‘s successful arrival on the New York Stock Exchange has inspired another pureplay music streaming platform to think about going public.
Paris-based Qobuz has today told MBW that it will consider its very own IPO over the next two years.
The news comes as the hi-def streaming platform announces that it has instructed KPMG to handle its third round of fundraising, with a plan to close investment by the end of June.
If you want to know how much positivity there is around the streaming business right now, consider this: as recently as November 2015, Qobuz looked likely to go out of business when it fell into receivership.
Today, Qobuz is operating in ten markets – France, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Spain and Italy.
Launches in the USA and Canada are expected this year.
“Qobuz has initiated its third round of fundraising, which should be closed at the end of June 2018, before considering an IPO in the next 18 to 24 months.”
Denis Thébaud, Qobuz (pictured)
Qobuz offers all 40 million tracks in its catalogue at l6—bit/44.l kHz quality (CD-like quality).
In addition it also offers what it calls ‘the world’s largest’ l-li-Res catalogue, with around 1 million songs.
Denis Thébaud, President of Qobuz, has been watching Spotify’s progress on the New York Stock Exchange closely.
He said: “This success is great news for the market, and for the music and for all its fans. We can only applaud Spotify for the launch into the largest financial center in the world, the NYSE.
“Firstly, it shows that the market is becoming more mature: it is going to be segmented, which will widen the scope for specialized players with a strong personality – like Qobuz. The music market has always developed by diversifying and the listing of the best online platforms is a sign of good health.
“For its part, advised by KPMG and confirming this market trend, Qobuz has initiated its third round of fundraising, which should be closed at the end of June 2018, before considering an IPO in the next 18 to 24 months.”
Should Qobuz execute a successful IPO out of France, it would go one better than fellow French streamer Deezer – which tried and failed to float on the Paris stock exchange back in October 2015.
