Spotify completes $235M acquisition of Reston-based Megaphone

Music streaming giant buys Graham Holdings Co.'s podcast tech company

Published December 10, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Music streaming giant Spotify Technology SA has completed the acquisition of Arlington-based media and education conglomerate Graham Holdings Co.’s podcast technology company, Megaphone, for $235 million, the company announced Tuesday.

The acquisition was first announced Nov. 10.

Founded in 2015, Megaphone provides hosting and ad-insertion capabilities for publishers and targeted ad sales for brand partners, according to Graham Holdings Co., the family company of the late Katharine Graham, who was the publisher and owner of The Washington Post. Megaphone is headquartered in Reston and has an office in New York City.

Graham Holdings Co.’s current holdings include online magazine Slate, digital marketing company SocialCode LLC, a group of seven television stations and higher education company Kaplan Inc. The company also holds Graham Media Group, which was formerly the Post-Newsweek Stations.

Launched in 2008, Stockholm, Sweden-based Spotify reported $7.44 billion in 2019 revenue. The web and mobile app allows users to livestream and listen to music, podcasts and other media through a monthly subscription model.

Subscribe to Virginia Business.

Get our daily e-newsletter.