Spotify Acquires WhoSampled to Decode Music’s DNA With New Discovery Tools

Founded in 2008, has since become a resource for music producers, hip-hop historians and legal departments alike.

Spotify’s latest acquisition signals a growing focus on metadata and music forensics as a competitive edge in the streaming wars.

The streaming giant has confirmed its acuisition of WhoSampled, a platform that maps the connective tissue between tracks via samples, covers and collaborators, all powered by its 1.2 million-song database. The impact of the deal is already materializing through the launch of a new Premium feature called SongDNA.

The acquisition underscores how the often invisible credits behind a song are becoming a battleground for major streaming platforms.

“Every song is a collaboration, and every contributor should be seen,” said Spotify’s Head of Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships, Jacqueline Ankner. “With expanded Song Credits, SongDNA, and About the Song, we’re giving fans a deeper look at the people and creative threads behind the music they love and giving creators the recognition they deserve. It’s another step in Spotify’s work to champion the people, connections, and stories that bring every track to life.”

Founded in 2008 by Nadav Poraz, WhoSampled functioned as an encyclopedia for sample-based music and has since become a resource for producers, hip-hop historians and legal departments alike. Poraz will stay on as Head of WhoSampled at Spotify, where he is expected to guide the feature’s evolution from database to interactive discovery engine. The product roadmap hints at more context-driven innovations, including “About the Song,” a storytelling layer that dives into the inspiration behind the music.

At a moment when transparency is emerging as a competitive advantage, Spotify seems to be making the case that knowing who played what and where it came from might matter as much as the music itself. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.