Spotify CEO Daniel Ek

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Published 2023-05-18
We sit down with Spotify CEO Daniel Ek live in Stockholm at Spotify’s amazing HQ studio. This was an incredibly special and timely conversation: for those who haven’t been paying attention over the past few years, after revolutionizing music Spotify has now ALSO completely transformed our own industry in podcasting. Starting from way behind with ~zero market share in 2018, Spotify has now aggregated the listener market and amazingly surpassed Apple as the world’s largest podcast platform — including close to home with the Acquired audience, where it has 60%+ market share among you all!

We discuss the origins of this “second act” strategy with Daniel, the vision to move from a music company to an audio company, and what’s coming next with Spotify’s entry into Audiobooks. And of course we relive some key moments from the Acquired canon that Daniel was involved in, including his pivotal conversations with Taylor Swift and her team convincing her to come back to streaming following the release of 1984. Tune in!

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Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

All Comments (10)
  • @AC-ge2tr
    This is an amazing interview. Also love that Daniel is asking back questions, showing lots of interest in you. Shows his focus on listening to customers. It’s just that the economics of SPOT‘s business aren’t really great, so I’m not invested in them. As a customer tho, I love the product.
  • I only missed talking more about Design decisions and features, but nice overview of the business, history and challenges!
  • @AC-ge2tr
    14:20 this feels like a consulting session by Daniel 😂
  • @nikolai1714
    Please upload in 2160p going forward if possible - really makes a difference. Great pod.
  • @flavioguzman
    Would love to hear the backstory on how this happened
  • @joeslack
    DANIEL EK IS THE KING, PERSONAL IDOL FOR A LONG TIME NOW!! THANKS FOR THIS ONE BOYS! GREAT JOB AS ALWAYS!
  • @Nedumgottil
    Did the Nintendo and Sega episodes not get uploaded to YouTube?