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Fresh from speculation around an impending IPO<\/a>, Spotify is hitting the gas on its expansion plans in Asia.<\/p>\n Two sources close to the company told TechCrunch that the firm is working to launch its music streaming business in Vietnam and Thailand, two countries with a combined population of over 160 million. The sources added that Spotify is also getting more serious about an expansion to India, which could potentially happen as soon as this year.<\/p>\n Spotify declined to comment when contacted by TechCrunch, however, in a tell-tale sign, it is hiring for \u201cmusic editor\u201d positions for both Vietnam<\/a> and Thailand<\/a>. Both jobs are based at the company\u2019s Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, but the creation of that role is a common pre-cursor to a full country launch. For example, back in October 2015, Spotify was hiring a music editor for Indonesia<\/a> \u2014 the company launched its service in the country six months later<\/a>. That suggests that launches in Vietnam and Thailand could happen in 2017.<\/p>\n The Spotify service claims upwards of 100 million registered users and more than 50 million paying subscribers. While it is available in more than 60 countries worldwide, there are still pockets in Asia where it is yet to enter. One of the most obvious future destinations is India, a huge country with bags of potential for digital services<\/a>. Taking even a moderate slice of the Indian market could be a timely boost\u00a0as the firm is reported to be \u201cseriously considering\u201d the possibility of joining a U.S. stock market without holding an IPO.<\/p>\n In February, we\u00a0reported on Spotify\u2019s difficult financial position and that the company is trying to improve its business model ahead of going public.\u00a0<\/a>At the time, Spotify was weighing a plan to delay its IPO to 2018. But the success of Snap\u2019s debut and other recent IPOs means that the \u201cwindow\u201d is now open,\u00a0with more and more companies braving the public markets because of warm investor reception.<\/p>\n We reported last year that the Swedish firm was looking into the possibilities in India and that remains the case, albeit that so-called \u201ceasier\u201d markets<\/a> like Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand have been prioritized since then. Competitors in India\u2019s music streaming market include local services\u00a0Tiger Global-backed Saavn<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Times Internet\u2019s Gaana<\/a>\u00a0while Apple entered in 2015 and Google Play Music officially arrived this year. To be clear, Spotify isn\u2019t about to launch in India, but it is raising its efforts to see what is possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fresh from speculation around an impending IPO, Spotify is hitting the gas on its expansion plans in Asia. Two sources close to the company told TechCrunch that the firm is working to launch its music streaming business in Vietnam and Thailand, two countries with a combined population of over 160 million. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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