During the past several years, Spotify has gone beyond music to offer podcasts and audiobooks, while other things it has tried, like live audio, has been less successful. Going forward, CEO Daniel Ek says the goal will be to go where it sees “huge problems” for consumers and creators alike.
“We actually have two constituents that are equally important to us. One is our consumer, and the second one is our creators. The easiest way to figure out what Spotify is going to do is to solve the problems for those constituents. And the best problems are the ones that are true for both of them at the same time,” Ek said. “If there's a huge consumer need, that also happens to be a big creator need, it is obviously going to make it very high up on the Spotify roadmap.”
Speaking on the In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen podcast recently, Ek said that artificial intelligence will also play a larger role in helping solve the content discovery challenge conceding that for all the algorithmic advances, content discovery remains the number one problem for podcasters and other creators looking to grow their audiences.
“The truth is, as good as we are at recommendations, if you really put your mind to it, you could create a better playlist yourself, if you really spent the time on researching and doing all that stuff. Five years to 10 years from now, that will not be true, I think we will do a better job,” Ek said. “Even if you spent a whole working day trying to figure out what you wanted to listen to, we will be able to create a playlist that is so much better – Spotify is your friend that knows music and podcasts and all that other stuff. And I think we're going to become that trusted friend where we're going to introduce you to things that you probably thought no way in hell am I going to be interested in this. And you're going to be totally hooked to it.”
Asked which podcasts he listens to, Ek pointed out he reads three books simultaneously and his podcast habits are similar. Ek did not mention any specific shows, but said he tends to turn into sports content saying he still would be interested in buying London’s Arsenal Football Club – something that first surfaced in 2021. “If they want to sell it, I'd be happy to take it off their hands,” he said.
Such a deal calls attention to Ek’s net worth, estimated at $3.6 billion by Fortune, which he acknowledges can be off-putting as some artists say they are paid very little despite having a million streams on Spotify.
“I think it's fine to be criticizing me for all of that, because it is something that I'm conflicted about. It is deeply problematic for me. I think it's the Nordic heritage,” Ek said. But he also said that for many artists, streaming payouts reveal they may not be as popular as they once were. “It’s a very tough conversation to have,” Ek said, also pointing out that more people are making music as streaming services have democratized the industry.
Ek also touched on his management style, saying that unlike a company such as Tesla where CEO Elon Musk makes all the decisions, he opts to empower people under him.
“I think it's more the Scandinavian leadership model where you delegate decision-making, and you allow your leaders to make it so in many ways,” Ek said. “I'm probably the least powerful person in Spotify. And I probably make the fewest amount of decisions in Spotify.”
Ek has led Spotify for the past 17 years, which is a long time for company founders that often cash out. He said on the podcast that he has no near-term plans to leave his role.
“ I still think that there's so much left to do for these amazing creative people around the world that we've only begun,” he said. “Some of these storytellers have been able to take these really complex things and really taboo things you and I would talk about it the way they do would get instantly cancelled, but they somehow are able to get us a laugh about these really sensitive things. And they're so important for our society and we get to serve them and get people to feel more.”
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