But here’s the thing: to do a deal with The Echo Nest, a company most likely chooses to not build its own algorithm, which is what all these companies are staring down the barrel of today. Everyone who is a customer considered The Echo Nest to be a neutral partner that didn’t play favorites to any of their competitors.

But not everyone thought about it this way.

Sonic Boom: How Spotify Acquiring The Echo Nest Remakes Digital Music’s Landscape