After finalizing a deal to raise $400 million, the insanely popular music streaming service, Spotify, now sits among the elite private ranks of Uber, Snapchat, Airbnb, and Palantir. The newly announced private investment round, led by prestigious Goldman Sachs (GS), indicates that high profile Middle Eastern investors, in addition to traditional American VC firms, want in on Spotify's "Napster-like" business proceedings.
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Yellen Fails At Social Media
In her semi-annual Congressional testimony, on July 15, Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen targeted Wall Street hype, and the valuations of social media stocks, claiming that they are “substantially stretched [in price].” Wall Street’s predictable reaction to this statement sent social media stocks tumbling, as investors feared Yellen was implying the formation of an imminent bubble.
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Onto The Next One
Have you ever found yourself searching through Pandora (P) trying to discover new artists that you might like? Have you ever run out of “skips” and had to wait through a song you hate? A new application designed by two Tinder employees aims to help users discover new music using the same interface as the ultra-popular application.
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Apple Beats Down Critics
Last Wednesday, May 28, 2014, Apple (AAPL) announced its $3 billion acquisition of Beats Music. The deal was finalized after three weeks of intense media coverage, and after the negotiations were leaked to the press. Previously, I endorsed Apple’s decision to purchase Beats for several reasons, including its brand recognition value, headphone market share, and popular music streaming service.
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