Spotify acquires photo aggregation startup CrowdAlbum, could signal renewed focus on social

Spotify acquires photo aggregation startup CrowdAlbum, could signal renewed focus on social

Spotify has acquired the startup CrowdAlbum, which specialises in enabling the crowdsourcing of photos and videos from specific events. 

CrowdAlbum’s was founded in 2003, and its home page showcases concerts, gatherings and awards ceremonies. By clicking on each event it is possible to see photos posted on social media taken in that particular place at that particular time.

The startup already has a heavy music focus, with a separate “Artist” category featuring music’s biggest names, and concerts seem to make up the majority of the events captured. 

The company doesn’t appear to have raised large amounts of funding, with just $100k of seed funding raised in 2014 according to CrunchBase and a team of less than 10 people. 

Spotify could really amp up its social components by integrating CrowdAlbum within the service, either as part of the artist page or as part of enhanced social functionality. 

The company’s acquisition of The Echo Nest became key in introducing most of its major recommendation-related features over the past two years. CrowdAlbum may on the other hand be the acquisition that pushes Spotify to amplify its social reach. 

 

(Andrea Leonelli)