Spotify has acquired WhoSampled, the popular community-run database that tracks sampled music, covers, and remixes. The company announced the deal on Wednesday while revealing its new song credits and music discovery features. Spotify did not disclose the price, but it confirmed that it is buying both the WhoSampled team and the entire database.
WhoSampled is a small London-based company with around ten employees, but it has a huge cultural impact. Since launching in 2008, it has become the most trusted place to look up samples, remixes, and cover versions. Its database now includes more than 1.2 million songs and over 622,000 samples. If you ever wanted to know where a beat came from or who inspired a track, WhoSampled is usually the first place to check.
Spotify has been working on giving listeners more context around the music they play. With millions of tracks, playlists, and remixes on the platform, people often want to know the story behind a song. WhoSampled’s data fits perfectly into this idea.
Spotify has also announced SongDNA, a new music discovery tool that gives users more information about the songs they love. WhoSampled’s massive database is powering parts of this feature. It allows Spotify to show which songs were sampled, which artists were influenced, and how tracks are connected.
Spotify has known WhoSampled for years. The two companies partnered back in 2016, allowing people to connect their Spotify account inside the WhoSampled app. But now, Spotify wants to go deeper. Owning the service gives it full access to WhoSampled’s expertise, algorithms, and community knowledge.
The good news for music fans is that WhoSampled will continue to exist as a standalone platform. The team confirmed that the website and brand will stay online even after the acquisition. fact, things might get better. The site plans to remove display ads in the coming weeks and moderation times for user submissions will be faster. WhoSampled’s mobile apps will become completely free.
This is a big upgrade for long-time users who often waited days for submissions to be approved. With Spotify’s resources and engineering support, WhoSampled can improve its speed and accuracy without charging users.
The WhoSampled team said Spotify shares its belief in the value of musical context. Both companies want listeners to go deeper into songs, understand their roots, and discover the artists behind the sound.
With AI and algorithms shaping listening habits, companies like Spotify need better music knowledge behind the scenes. WhoSampled gives Spotify access to a rich, detailed, and verified music database. It helps Spotify build new features that explain a song’s history in a clear and engaging way.
This move also shows that Spotify is thinking beyond playlists. It wants to become the ultimate place for music discovery, education, and cultural context.
