Spotify rolls out TikTok-style clips to boost user engagement: Swedish music streaming giant Spotify launched “Previews” yesterday, a new video feed of short clips showcasing songs, podcasts, and audiobooks, the company said in a statement. The recommendations are generated algorithmically, similarly to TikTok videos and YouTube Shorts.

The strategy: The new feature aims to boost what the company calls “foreground discovery,” co-presidents Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström told the Wall Street Journal. Rather than discovering new music through viral TikTok trends and coming to Spotify to stream it, the company wants users to unlock new tracks natively — a factor it believes is key to retaining users.

Spotify has been facing the music: The company recorded a net operating loss of EUR 231 mn in 4Q 2022, according to its earnings release (pdf) and announced in January that it plans to slash 6% of its workforce as it works to streamline operations. In 2019, it introduced a pricey podcast strategy, which has since seen it spend north of USD 1 bn on podcast companies and talent, the WSJ reports. Many of the executives leading the strategy have departed, however, and the company has now shifted its focus to cutting costs and “making good on those investments.”

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Chinese online apparel retailer Shein has ambitious financing plans this year, as it looks to raise around USD 2 bn in a funding round, followed by a US listing in the back half of 2023, Reuters reports, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. The company has slashed its valuation by a third from last year’s USD 64 bn ahead of the funding round. Previous investors General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital China, and the UAE’s Mubadala will be joined by Tiger Global Management this round, Reuters’ sources said.

Where’s the money going? The company and its investors refused to comment on the matter but it looks like Shein is moving forward with a bullish expansion plan. The growth strategy includes expansion in Europe, starting with a new team in Ireland and a new facility in Poland, after having begun production in Turkey.

Growing despite controversy: The Chinese company came under fire over several reports that scrutinize its alleged labor violations and environmentally damaging practices, which some critics say are on a larger scale than any of its fast-fashion peers. The overseas IPO will be watched closely as China published new rules laying out how companies might list overseas last month. Following a regulatory crackdown, those regulations led to a slowdown in the number of Chinese companies listing in the United States.