Here comes Spotify…

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Here comes Spotify…

Spotify stock exchange

AP Photo/Richard Drew

A Spotify banner adorns the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, April 3, 2018. Spotify, the No. 1 music streaming service which has drawn comparisons to Netflix, is about to find out how it plays on the stock market in an unusual IPO.

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Spotify will trade publicly for the first time Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange via an unusual move known as a direct listing, instead of the usual initial public offering, or IPO.

The stock is indicated to open between $160 and $165 - roughly 18% above the $132 reference price set on Monday. Actual trading prices could vary widely for the Swedish streaming behemoth, depending on the buy and sell orders collected by the stock exchange from broker-dealers.

This "novel method" for going public is the stock trading equivalent of opening a store and hoping people will just stop in. It also means Spotify will list on the NYSE without underwriters, without a set price, without a set level of supply of shares, and without a lock-up on existing investors.

Shares will likely begin trading in the afternoon under the ticker SPOT, NYSE President Tom Farley said Tuesday.

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"Normally, companies ring bells. Normally, companies spend their day doing interviews on the trading floor touting why their stock is a good investment. Normally, companies don't pursue a direct listing," CEO Daniel Ek said Monday of his company's unusual move.

"While I appreciate that this path makes sense for most, Spotify has never been a normal kind of company. As I mentioned during our Investor Day, our focus isn't on the initial splash. Instead, we will be working on trying to build, plan, and imagine for the long term."

This post will be updated when Spotify begins trading.

Check out Business Insider's full slate of coverage surrounding Spotify's unusual public offering:

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