Spotify acquires WhoSampled music database for undisclosed sum

Spotify acquired WhoSampled on November 19, 2025, according to announcements from both companies, marking a significant consolidation in the music technology sector as streaming platforms expand beyond audio delivery into content discovery and attribution infrastructure.

The acquisition brings WhoSampled's database of 1,246,970 songs, 622,026 samples, 460,204 covers, and 140,461 remixes under Spotify's ownership. According to the WhoSampled announcement, the platform will continue operating as a standalone brand while gaining resources to accelerate database expansion and improve user experience through faster moderation and enhanced features.

Deal terms were not disclosed, but TechCrunch confirmed the acquisition includes both WhoSampled's team and database. WhoSampled employed approximately 10 people according to data from PitchBook and LinkedIn at the time of acquisition. Founded in London in 2008 by Nadav Poraz, WhoSampled built its database through community contributions verified by 54 moderators across 40,202 registered contributors.

The acquisition extends Spotify's pattern of purchasing specialized music technology companies to enhance platform capabilities. Spotify has been expanding its advertising technology infrastructure throughout 2025 while simultaneously developing content discovery tools that differentiate its service from competitors like Apple Music and Amazon Music.

Database integration and SongDNA feature

WhoSampled's data will power a new Spotify feature called SongDNA, which the companies described as bringing music connection exploration directly within Spotify's interface. According to the WhoSampled announcement, SongDNA will enable hundreds of millions of listeners worldwide to discover relationships between songs they stream and the broader musical ecosystem.

The platform's database represents over a decade of detailed research spanning more than 1,000 years of musical history. Every connection displayed on WhoSampled was contributed by community members and verified by qualified moderators or self-moderating Gold Contributors, according to the company's documentation. This verification process distinguishes WhoSampled from automated music identification services.

WhoSampled's methodology focuses on documenting samples, covers, and remixes with extensive metadata including the specific musical elements sampled, release dates, and contextual information. The database tracks direct samples taken from original recordings as well as interpolations where melodies or phrases were replayed rather than directly sampled. According to WhoSampled's submission guidelines, the platform only accepts samples that are clearly identifiable and long enough to be positively verified.

Immediate user benefits and platform changes

Spotify announced several immediate improvements to WhoSampled's user experience following the acquisition. Moderation wait times for community submissions will decrease dramatically, addressing a persistent bottleneck in the platform's content verification process. WhoSampled's iOS application, previously requiring payment, will become free to download alongside the existing free Android app.

In-app subscriptions on both platforms will become free for all users in the coming weeks. The WhoSampled website will remove display advertisements, resulting in faster load times and cleaner user interfaces. These changes take effect immediately, according to the November 19, 2025 announcement.

The platform's community contribution model will continue unchanged. Contributors earn "Cred" points for approved submissions: 10 points for samples, 3 points for covers or remixes, and 8 points for facts or stories about musical connections. Moderators earn 5 points for verifying samples and 3 points for moderating covers or remixes. This gamification system incentivizes accurate contributions while maintaining database quality through verification requirements.

Strategic context for streaming platforms

The acquisition arrives as Spotify faces intensifying competition in the streaming audio market. Apple Music opened a new 15,000-square-foot studio facility in Los Angeles in June 2025 to commemorate its 10th anniversary, signaling continued platform investment in original content creation and artist relationships.

Spotify's advertising revenue grew 8% year-over-year to €419 million in Q1 2025 despite broader digital advertising headwinds. The company reached 268 million Premium subscribers as of April 2025 and operates with 650 million users globally across free and paid tiers. The platform raised premium subscription prices across multiple markets in August 2025, increasing monthly costs from €10.99 to €11.99.

WhoSampled's acquisition provides Spotify with differentiated content discovery capabilities that extend beyond algorithmic playlist generation. The database offers concrete, verifiable connections between songs based on musical relationships rather than listening patterns or collaborative filtering. This approach aligns with music enthusiast communities that value understanding musical lineage and influence networks.

The timing coincides with broader platform consolidation trends across marketing technology and media sectors. Salesforce acquired enterprise search startup Doti in November 2025 to strengthen AI capabilities. HubSpot entered an agreement to acquire XFunnel on October 31, 2025, to address changing customer discovery patterns as people increasingly receive answers directly from large language models.

Industry recognition and data applications

WhoSampled established itself as the authoritative source for sample identification before the acquisition. The platform's data powers marketing campaigns by major record labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group. Academic institutions including NYU, Berklee College of Music, and Tufts University utilize WhoSampled data for research purposes.

Hundreds of academic papers have cited WhoSampled as a data source. The platform received recognition from technology and music publications including placement as a Best of Year selection by Apple and inclusion in The Guardian's 25 Best Android Apps list. Music Ally Digital Music Awards named WhoSampled Best Music App.

The database's most sampled track is "Amen, Brother" by the Winstons, which has been sampled in more than 6,600 songs. The six-second drum break from this 1969 recording became foundational to numerous musical genres including jungle, drum and bass, and hip-hop. WhoSampled's documentation of such influential samples provides valuable context for understanding genre development and musical innovation.

Technical integration and partnership history

WhoSampled previously partnered with Spotify in 2016, allowing users to access their Spotify playlists and saved tracks within the WhoSampled mobile application. This integration demonstrated technical compatibility between the platforms before the acquisition. The partnership also enabled WhoSampled users to stream songs directly from Spotify while exploring sample relationships.

In 2015, WhoSampled added support for film and television clips, expanding beyond music-only samples. The platform documents samples from movies and TV shows, including scene descriptions, actor credits, and release information. This expansion enabled tracking of cultural references and audio snippets used in music production from visual media sources.

The platform introduced 6D in 2016, a six degrees of separation-inspired game tracking relationships between artists, producers, and tracks. The feature gamified music discovery by challenging users to find connection paths between seemingly unrelated artists through their sampling relationships and collaborations.

Implications for marketing and advertising technology

The acquisition demonstrates how streaming platforms are investing in content metadata and attribution infrastructure. As audio advertising grows 23.6% annually according to Australian market data, platforms require sophisticated content understanding to match advertisements with appropriate content contexts and audience segments.

WhoSampled's database provides granular content classification that extends beyond genre tags or mood descriptors. The platform documents specific musical elements, instrumentation, and creative techniques used in recordings. This metadata could enable more precise contextual advertising targeting based on musical characteristics rather than broad genre categories.

Spotify's advertising platform has been expanding programmatic capabilities, launching Spotify Ad Exchange partnerships beyond The Trade Desk to include demand-side platforms such as Google's DV360 and LiveRamp. The platform's ad-supported segment gross margin reached 15.3% in Q1 2025, up 885 basis points year-over-year.

Music attribution data could inform content recommendation systems that drive engagement metrics advertisers value. Understanding which songs contain samples from specific eras or genres enables playlist curation that maintains stylistic coherence while introducing users to new artists. This balance between familiarity and discovery affects listening session duration and advertising inventory monetization.

Community reception and platform governance concerns

The WhoSampled community expressed mixed reactions to the acquisition announcement. User comments on the platform questioned whether Spotify's ownership would benefit long-term platform development given the streaming service's business practices around artist compensation and AI-generated music investments.

One commenter noted concerns about supporting a platform "that is actively investing (and most importantly grossly profiting from-) AI music" and "grossly underpaying artists." Another asked "So when is Spotify shutting WhoSampled of?" referencing historical patterns where technology companies acquire and subsequently discontinue competing services.

The WhoSampled team addressed these concerns by emphasizing the platform's standalone operation and community-driven model will continue. According to the announcement, "the WhoSampled you know and love is here to stay as a standalone platform and brand. It will continue to operate much as it always has, powered by the passion of our incredible community of contributors around the world."

Moderator independence and content verification standards will determine whether community trust persists following ownership changes. WhoSampled's value derives from contributor expertise and verification rigor rather than automated data collection. Maintaining these standards while scaling moderation capacity presents operational challenges for the expanded platform.

Market positioning and competitive landscape

WhoSampled operates in a specialized niche distinct from broader music identification services like Shazam or SoundHound. While those platforms identify songs playing in physical environments, WhoSampled documents relationships between recordings. SecondHandSongs provides similar functionality for cover song tracking but focuses less extensively on hip-hop and electronic music sampling traditions.

Discogs offers comprehensive discography information and marketplace functionality for physical recordings. Pandora Radio uses Music Genome Project taxonomy for recommendation systems based on musical characteristics. WhoSampled's differentiation comes from community-sourced relationship mapping rather than algorithmic analysis or marketplace transactions.

The acquisition removes WhoSampled as a potential acquisition target for competing streaming platforms. Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal lack comparable sample documentation capabilities. WhoSampled's integration into Spotify creates platform differentiation in content discovery that competitors must now replicate through internal development or alternative acquisitions.

Spotify's competitive positioning includes recent initiatives like lossless audio streaming launched in September 2025, providing 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC quality to Premium subscribers. The platform also expanded audiobook access to five Nordic countries in November 2025, demonstrating continued content category expansion beyond music streaming.

Future development and integration roadmap

Spotify and WhoSampled stated they are "already working on innovative ways to explore music connections directly within Spotify." The SongDNA feature represents the first announced integration, but the companies indicated additional features will follow. Specific implementation timelines beyond SongDNA were not disclosed in the November 19, 2025 announcements.

Potential applications include enhanced artist pages showing which songs sampled their work, playlist generation based on sample relationships, and educational content explaining sampling history and techniques. The database could power interactive visualizations of genre development through sampling lineages or highlight regional musical exchanges documented through sample usage patterns.

WhoSampled's film and television sample documentation could integrate with Spotify's podcast and video content initiatives. The platform tracks audio clips from movies and TV shows used in music production, creating potential connections between Spotify's expanding video catalog and its music library.

The acquisition provides Spotify with specialized talent in music metadata, community management, and content verification systems. These capabilities extend beyond WhoSampled's immediate product to inform broader platform development in areas where human curation and expert verification add value that automated systems cannot replicate.

Timeline

• October 1, 2008: Nadav Poraz launches WhoSampled in London to track musical samples and cover songs
• 2012: WhoSampled releases iPhone mobile application
• 2014: Android application launches for WhoSampled platform
• 2015: Platform adds support for film and television clip samples
• February 8, 2016: WhoSampled partners with Spotify to enable playlist and track access in mobile app
• July 2016: Platform introduces 6D game tracking six degrees of separation between artists
• October 2017: WhoSampled partners with KPM and Ableton for third Samplethon competition at Point Blank Studios
• November 2020: Spotify acquires podcast platform Megaphone from Graham Holdings for $235 million
• April 2025: Spotify launches programmatic Spotify Ad Exchange (SAX) enabling real-time auctions
• June 30, 2025: Apple Music announces 15,000-square-foot Los Angeles studio marking 10th anniversary
• August 4, 2025: Spotify raises premium subscription prices across multiple global markets
• September 10, 2025: Spotify launches lossless audio streaming for Premium subscribers
• November 18, 2025: Spotify expands audiobook service to five Nordic countries
• November 19, 2025: Spotify announces acquisition of WhoSampled for undisclosed sum; platform to operate as standalone brand

Summary

Who: Spotify acquired WhoSampled, the London-based music database founded by Nadav Poraz in 2008. The transaction includes WhoSampled's team of approximately 10 employees and its community of 40,202 contributors and 54 moderators who built the platform's comprehensive database over 17 years.

What: The acquisition brings WhoSampled's database of 1,246,970 songs, 622,026 samples, 460,204 covers, and 140,461 remixes under Spotify's ownership. WhoSampled will continue operating as a standalone platform and brand while gaining resources for faster moderation, free mobile applications, and ad-free website experience. The data will power Spotify's new SongDNA feature for exploring music connections within the streaming interface.

When: Spotify announced the acquisition on November 19, 2025. The deal represents WhoSampled's first exit after 17 years of independent operation. Immediate platform improvements including free apps and faster moderation began rolling out at announcement, while SongDNA feature integration timeline was not specified beyond "upcoming" status.

Where: The acquisition affects WhoSampled's operations globally, though the company was founded and remains based in London, England. Spotify operates worldwide with 650 million users across free and paid tiers, positioning WhoSampled's database to reach hundreds of millions of listeners through the SongDNA integration across Spotify's international markets.

Why: The acquisition addresses Spotify's strategic need for differentiated content discovery capabilities beyond algorithmic recommendations as streaming platforms intensify competition for user engagement and premium subscriptions. WhoSampled's verified music relationship data enables concrete, educational connections between songs that align with music enthusiast values while providing Spotify with specialized metadata potentially applicable to contextual advertising targeting and playlist curation systems.