As Spotify publicly lists today, founder Daniel Ek looks to tomorrow… and beyond

Daniel Ek has posted an open letter on the eve of his company’s IPO, stressing that although tomorrow (or ‘today’ as us future-dwelling Aussies call it) is a big day in his company’s history, he doesn’t want it to become the most important day.

“Lots of people have asked me how I feel about tomorrow’s listing”, he wrote. “Of course, I am proud of what we’ve built over the last decade. But what’s even more important to me is that tomorrow does not become the most important day for Spotify.”

“It’s the day after, and the following day that matters — and all those days to come.”, he continued. “Because that’s when we will continue the hard and important work of our mission: To unlock the potential of human creativity — by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it.

“Spotify is not raising capital, and our shareholders and employees have been free to buy and sell our stock for years. So while tomorrow puts us on a bigger stage, it doesn’t change who we are, what we are about, or how we operate.”

He then goes on to outline how Spotify’s listing differs from a usual IPO, claiming they won’t be ringing bells. “Our focus isn’t on the initial splash”, he claims, acknowledging there will be ups and downs, but his focus is on ” trying to build, plan, and imagine for the long term.”

Read the entire open letter here, and heed our expert Spotify investment tips here.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.