“We started seeing it resonating really well into people’s lives,” he said. “It played really well into our strategy of ubiquity - i.e., being on all of these different devices in your home, whether it’s the Alexas or TV screens or in your cars or whatever as just another source where you could play your audio.”Īs for how those plans will take shape, he said, “I think that the format of podcasts, we’re still very very early on into what it will be.” (He noticed the same thing with audiobook services in Germany.) He also wants to apply Spotify’s streaming metrics to its podcasts, as a way to monetize the shows and illustrate value for advertisers. In the new interview, Ek explains he was inspired to buy into the podcast sphere after seeing record companies in Sweden purchase podcasts and upload them to Spotify as another source of revenue. Spotify has scooped up three podcasting firms this year - Gimlet Media, Anchor FM and Parcast. On Freakonomics - which prides itself on uncovering “the hidden side of everything” - Ek also delved into guarding customers’ data, why he’s investing so heavily in podcasts and more. Spotify's Strategic Offensive Hits Three Fronts The interview comes amid a turbulent time for the streamer, which in the past two months has filed an antitrust complaint in Europe against Apple regarding App Store practices, launched in India despite a legal injunction from Warner Music Group and also waged battle with the Copyright Royalty Board over its February decree to boost songwriters and publishers’ royalty payments. “We believe we can be the R&D arm for the music industry,” he added, “that we can develop better tools and technology to allow them to be more efficient and thereby creating more, better solutions for them and for artists.” As part of the update, Spotify will begin sending artists custom hyperlinks when their songs are added to those playlists that will place the artist’s song at the top of the list, further incentivizing artists’ sharing with fans. And while playlists like RapCaviar have positioned Spotify as a powerful arbiter of music taste, Ek says he never intended to be a “disrupter.” His comments come shortly after Spotify began personalizing some editorial playlists based on users’ tastes, a move intended to both improve the listening experience for users and make it easier for artists to get their music to the right ears.

Spotify ceo interview