Spotify's stock closed up 13 percent from its reference price on its first day of trading, but below the highs of the day.

Shares hit the public market at an opening price of $165.90 Tuesday, but ultimately fell more than 10 percent from the opening price to close at $149.01 — still higher than expected. The $149.01 closing price remained well above Monday night's reference price of $132, even though it was under the day's high of $169 apiece.

The music streaming service is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SPOT. Unlike a traditional IPO, Spotify conducted a direct listing, meaning no banks underwrote the offering and no price was set ahead of the debut.

The NYSE set a reference price of $132 on Monday night based on previous trades on private markets, but ultimately the publicly listed price was based on investor demand.