Spotify is now a publicly traded company. The world's largest streaming music provider began public trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SPOT. The stock opened at $165.90 per share and has been trending down since then; according to Market Watch, as of this writing, it's hovering around $153.

The company filed papers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to go public in late February. Spotify's filing came after losing $1.5 billion in 2017.

Today's listing was what's called a direct listing, which is a speedier and less expensive process compared to an initial public offering. Reuters reports that Spotify's direct listing was the largest that's ever happened—the streaming company opened with a market value of approximately $30 billion.

Despite Spotify's significant posted loss in 2017, according to a blog post by founder and CEO Richard Ek, the company's public listing isn't about raising capital or an "initial splash." Spotify "will be working on trying to build, plan, and imagine for the long term," he writes, adding that he's excited for the future of his company.

Source: Reuters, Spotify Blog