Sarah Hildering and Eelko van Kooten
LONDON After spending 18 years building Spinnin’ Records into one of the world’s biggest independent dance music labels,
Eelko van Kooten sold Spinnin’ to Warner Music Group in 2017 for more than $100 million and decided to take a much-needed break from the music business.
“I travelled a lot,” van Kooten tells
Billboard. “I spent a lot of time with family and friends. I bought a lot of properties.”
Following Spinnin’s sale, van Kooten’s desire to “de-stress” and lead a more normal life saw him make a clean break with the company he’d grown into a global dance powerhouse Spinnin’ was the first label to sign Martin Garrix and counts Tiësto among its alums and begin to contemplate a life of wealthy semi-retirement.