Daniel Ek has a brand new shareholder to maintain joyful – and it’s one which comes with a popularity.

In line with a Bloomberg report, ValueAct Capital Administration introduced at a Columbia College occasion in the present day (February 10) that it has acquired a shareholding in Spotify.

Spotify’s share value was up by roughly 4% in pre-trading on the NYSE this morning following the report.

ValueAct CEO Mason Morfit didn’t verify the dimensions of the shareholding. Nonetheless, he mentioned that, lately, SPOT’s “working bills and funding for content material exploded”, however that the streaming firm was “now checking out what was constructed to final and what was constructed for the bubble”.

A Spotify spokesperson mentioned in the present day: “We welcome ValueAct as an investor in Spotify.”

What’s significantly intriguing about ValueAct’s place in Spotify is that the previous firm has a historical past of nudging firms it invests in in direction of elevating client costs and enhancing margins.

As cited in a observe from William Packer (MD, Media & Web) at BNP Paribas Exane in the present day, ValueAct took a stake in The New York Occasions Group final 12 months and urged it to each reduce prices and lift costs.

In line with a report from Reuters revealed final summer season, ValueAct acquired a 6.7% stake in The New York Occasions Group.

Its different investments, in keeping with the ValueAct web site, embrace firms similar to Adobe, Microsoft, and Motorola.

Packer’s BNPP observe means that “activist stress at Spotify might speed up plans for the group to lift core music subscription costs which stay beneath key friends Apple and Amazon“.

Each Apple and Amazon Music have, previously 4 months, raised their commonplace premium subscription value within the US from $9.99 to $10.99 monthly.

Thus far, nonetheless, Spotify has refused to affix them in doing so.

How a lot leverage San Francisco-based ValueAct must affect Daniel Ek’s technique at Spotify stays to be seen.

In line with Spotify’s newest annual investor report, filed with the SEC previously fortnight, Ek personally owned 31.7% of complete voting energy at Spotify on the finish of 2022.

His co-founder on the Swedish streaming service (and its former Chairman), Martin Lorenzton, owned 42.6% of complete voting energy.

Ek owned 16.5% of abnormal shares in Spotify, in keeping with the submitting. Lorentzon owned 11.1%.

The second greatest particular person holder of abnormal shares in Spotify on the shut of final 12 months was funding agency Baillie Gifford, which owned a 14.5% stake (see beneath).

Spotify introduced final month that it will be shedding 500 folks globally.

Daniel Ek wrote in a letter to employees explaining the adjustments: “As you might be effectively conscious, over the previous couple of months we’ve made a substantial effort to rein-in prices, but it surely merely hasn’t been sufficient. So whereas it’s clear this path is the appropriate one for Spotify, it doesn’t make it any simpler — particularly as we take into consideration the various contributions these colleagues have made.”

“Like many different leaders, I hoped to maintain the robust tailwinds from the pandemic and believed that our broad international enterprise and decrease threat to the affect of a slowdown in advertisements would insulate us. In hindsight, I used to be too bold in investing forward of our income development.”

Added Ek: “I take full accountability for the strikes that received us right here in the present day.”Music Enterprise Worldwide