Spotify, the world’s largest online music streaming service, plans to boost its staff numbers by a third, its co-founder and chief executive said Tuesday amid increasing competition from other technology companies.<\/p>\n
“We are 1,500 and we are recruiting another 500, up to 2,000 people,” Martin Lorenzon told reporters at a trade fair in Helsinki.<\/p>\n
He did not specify when the new hires would join the company.<\/p>\n
The Swedish-based pioneer of online music streaming announced its expansion amid mounting competition, notably from a newly launched advert-free music video service from YouTube, part of Google’s online empire.<\/p>\n
Sony Music has also indicated that it is looking at expanding paid subscriptions to its online music service.<\/p>\n
“Everyone loves music, so if you have a product which everyone loves of course there will be competitors…. Competition is also good. Then I have to run faster,” said Lorenzon.<\/p>\n
Spotify hit world headlines two weeks ago when US pop star Taylor Swift pulled her music off the service calling it “an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists and creators” in an interview with Yahoo Music.<\/p>\n
Spotify last week responded by stressing that it had paid $2 billion to artists and songwriters since its 2008 launch.<\/p>\n
It also said it had 50 million subscribers – including 12.5 million who pay for ad-free listening – an increase of 10 million since May.<\/p>\n
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