One early Spotify investor is happy that the company’s stock didn’t surge when it started trading on the market Tuesday. “If we had totally exploded, I don’t think that would have been good,” said Pär-Jörgen Pärson, partner at European venture capital firm Northzone, a Spotify investor since 2008. “It would be hard to grow into that valuation over time. I think it’s better to have a gradual convergence of what the market expects and what you deliver as a company.” Investors and experts forecasted major market volatility as a result of Spotify’s unusual direct listing. But the music streaming company’s public debut went off smoother than expected, and despite pulling back from from the opening trades, shares remain well above the reference price of $132 a share. Reports emerged Thursday that only about five percent of the total number of Spotify shares that were eligible for the listing were actually sold and traded. That may be because investors aren’t ready to part ways with their shares as they’ve “grown to really like and appreciate the destructive nature of the company,” said Pärson. Spotify shares ended Thursday at almost $144.
