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☆ Read the full memo Spotify's CEO sent employees announcing it would cut 17% of its staff: 'Being lean is not just an option but a necessity'
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

CEO Daniel Ek told employees in a memo they would get an email from HR in two hours. The music streaming giant said in a blog post Monday announcing the cuts that "being lean is not just an option but a necessity." CEO Daniel Ek sent an email to his employees Monday with the same memo shared in the blog post. Two Spotify employees, who did not wish to be identified, told BI that some employees expected the further layoffs were looming. AdvertisementThe company shared a blog post in September titled "Unlocking Internal Mobility", which said that internal mobility would be "taking a higher priority."

Persons: Daniel Ek, —, Ek, Katarina Berg, we've, I've, we're, Katarina, Severance, We're, – Daniel Organizations: Spotify, Business, Service, BI Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Israel, India

☆ Spotify plans to split with its longtime ad agency as it looks beyond music streaming for growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Spotify is quietly looking for a new ad agency to handle its media planning and buying as it takes steps to broaden its business beyond music and podcasts and push further into performance marketing. The audio streaming company is planning to part with its global agency of record since 2017 , ad holding company IPG Mediabrands' UM, according to two knowledgeable sources. Spotify shared a statement saying: "Today, UM is Spotify's agency of record. In October, Spotify posted an operating profit, its first since 2021, as user and advertising growth along with price hikes boosted results. Spotify has since pivoted away from heavy spending on podcasts and made some of its shows available on other platforms to spur audience growth.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Publicis, Joe Rogan, Michelle Obama, Dawn Ostroff Organizations: Spotify, UM, Business Locations: North America

☆ Daniel Ek's daily routine: Spotify's Swedish CEO does his best thinking on morning walks and sometimes doesn't start his work day until 11 a.m.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Kylie Kirschner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek starts his day later than many other major CEOs. After his walk, Ek sets time aside to read for 30 minutes to an hour — sometimes the news, but also an "ever-rotating stack of books." AdvertisementAdvertisementEk's work day usually starts around 10:30 a.m., but sometimes might even start later. On a 2020 episode of the Tim Ferriss show, Ek said he didn't start his work day until 11 a.m. that morning. During the work day, Ek likes to keep his calendar relatively open, unless he's traveling and can't keep to his normal schedule.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Ek, —, he's, — Read, Tim Cook, Steve Squeri, he'll, Tim Ferriss, Forbes Organizations: Service, Apple, Spotify Locations: Swedish, unwind

The company posted a third-quarter operating income of 32 million euros ($34.1 million), its first quarterly profit since 2021, helped by a higher gross margin and lower marketing and personnel costs. "We believe moving forward, we should see pretty consistent growth in our operating income," its Chief Financial Officer Paul Vogel said. It forecast operating income of 37 million euros in the current quarter. Revenue rose 11% to 3.36 billion euros, beating estimates of 3.33 billion. Analysts were expecting a forecast of 232.4 million premium subscribers and revenue of 3.69 billion euros.

Persons: Eric Gaillard, Paul Vogel, Daniel Ek, Vogel, Supantha Mukherjee, Kirsten Donovan, Jan Harvey Organizations: Spotify, Cannes Lions International, Creativity, REUTERS, Companies, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Cannes, France, STOCKHOLM, LSEG, Stockholm

☆ YouTube wants to launch an AI-powered tool that lets you sound like your favorite singer, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

YouTube wants to launch a AI feature to let users make music using their favorite singers' voices. It's been delayed by ongoing talks with record companies about the rights needed to train AI software. The arrival of AI-generated music has created significant legal issues for the music industry. The new tools are aimed at streamlining the creative process for YouTube users. The AI music function could potentially give YouTube users the ability to recreate any song with their favorite musician's voice, or create entirely new music replicating a singer.

Persons: It's, —, didn't, Alexander Ross, that's, Drake, Munch ”, ”, Daniel Ek, Grimes, Elon Musk, who's Organizations: YouTube, Service, Bloomberg, Spotify

☆ HealthCaters enables people to screen themselves at home for preventable diseases. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck it used to raise $1.2 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A startup that offers personalized health screenings for individuals and employees has just raised $1.2 million in fresh funds. Berlin-based HealthCaters, which was founded three years ago, has developed a home-testing kit so that users can screen themselves for preventable diseases. The startup's app, which is also powered by AI, then suggests personalized health guidelines based on the results of these screenings. Based on these results, medical coaches at the startup create an individual health plan for patients. With the fresh funding, HealthCaters will double down on its business-to-business offerings, and eye a launch in the UK market.

Persons: Tatyana Eliseeva, aren't, Daniel Ek, Dr, Lilia Kruse, HealthCaters Organizations: IBM, DvH Ventures Locations: Berlin, HealthCaters, Germany, Europe

☆ Mark Zuckerberg has embraced a 'martial arts view of the world,' says Spotify CEO Daniel Ek
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Nidhi Pandurangi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Zuckerberg has embraced a "martial arts view of the world," says Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementAdvertisementMeta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who spent the summer getting shredded and talking about a cage fight with Elon Musk, has embraced a "martial arts view of the world." That's according to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, who discussed the public's perception of Zuckerberg with Forbes in a story published on Tuesday. In August 2022, Zuckerberg spoke about his martial arts journey on an episode of the "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, saying he found the sport to be both physically and intellectually engaging.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Daniel Ek . Ek, Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, —, Daniel Ek, Ek, Joe Rogan, Insider's Jyoti Mann, Dan Schulman, Krav Maga, Joanna Pineda Organizations: Forbes, Service, PayPal, Matrix Group, hapkido Locations: California, Meta

☆ Spotify founder Daniel Ek says there are 3 versions of his friend Mark Zuckerberg: 'The Social Network' Zuck, 'Evil' Zuck, and this new persona we're seeing today
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Spotify's founder says the world has met three different versions of Mark Zuckerberg over the years. There's "The Social Network" Mark, "Cambridge Analytica" Mark and the Mark we're seeing today. Daniel Ek told Forbes that today's Zuckerberg "is a lot more authentic in his public persona." AdvertisementAdvertisementSpotify founder Daniel Ek says the public has been entreated to three different versions of Mark Zuckerberg over the years. But Ek told Forbes that the Zuckerberg of today is a lot different from the past two versions.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Mark, Daniel Ek, Forbes, today's Zuckerberg, —, Ek, Ek — who's, Zuckerberg, Jessie Eisenberg's, Eisenberg, He's, he's, Joe Rogan, Rogan, Meta Organizations: Cambridge, Service, Facebook, Harvard, Social, Academy, Meta Locations: Swedish, Cambridge

☆ Spotify won't remove all AI-generated music despite previously pulling some AI tracks from the platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

He said the use of AI in the music industry would likely be debated for years. Ek told the outlet there was a debatable middle ground where AI-generated music was influenced by, but did not mimic, an existing artist. The Spotify boss added that the use of AI in the music industry would likely be debated for years. Several artists have criticized this type of AI music. During an appearance on the "Full Send" podcast, Ice Cube said he would sue "the people and the platform" who made and distributed AI-generated music in his style.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Ek, —, Drake, Spotify's, it's Organizations: Spotify, BBC, Service, BBC News, Apple Music, YouTube

☆ Spotify will use AI to replicate podcasters' voices and translate them to other languages
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek joins author and comedian Trevor Noah to discuss the future of storytelling at Spotify Beach in Cannes, France, on June 20, 2023. Spotify on Monday announced a new artificial intelligence-powered feature that can translate podcasts into different languages using the host's own voice. The technology can create "realistic synthetic voices" from just a few seconds of speech, OpenAI said in a release. Spotify said it will help make the podcast listening experience more authentic and natural by maintaining podcasters' "distinctive speech characteristics." Spotify said it plans to make the feature accessible for more creators and languages in the future.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Trevor Noah, OpenAI, Dax Shepard, Lex Fridman, Monica Padman, Steven Bartlett, Bill Simmons, Trevor Noah's Organizations: Spotify Beach, Spotify Locations: Cannes, France

☆ No, it's not possible to make $1,200 a month by posting 30-second tracks on Spotify – its CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Boss Daniel Ek said the lucrative side hustle wasn't possible as it was "not how our royalty system works." Spotify is battling a wave of fake music being uploaded to the platform, much of it generated by AI. before adding: "But seriously, that's not quite how our royalty system works." Separately, a Swedish newspaper last week reported that gangs were using fake Spotify streams to launder money. The rappers would then collect royalty payments for their songs from Spotify, effectively laundering the money.

Persons: Morgan, Boss Daniel Ek, Daniel Ek, that's, Drake Organizations: Spotify, Service, JPMorgan, Financial, Columbia House, Universal Music, Swedish, Svenska Dagbladet Locations: Wall, Silicon, Swedish, Svenska

The number of monthly active users rose to 551 million in the second quarter, beating Spotify's guidance and analysts' forecast of 526.8 million. Premium subscribers, who account for most of the company's revenue, rose 17% to 220 million, topping estimates of 216.6 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. However, quarterly revenue was 3.18 billion euros ($3.51 billion), below analysts' estimate of 3.21 billion euros. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo"If we have user growth, the revenue growth eventually comes - that's the lesson been learned at Spotify and we have seen it over and over," Ek said. Spotify expects premium subscribers to reach 224 million this quarter and revenue of 3.3 billion euros.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Brendan McDermid, Ek, Paul Vogel, Supantha Mukherjee, Louise Heavens, Mark Potter Organizations: Spotify, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, New York, U.S, Stockholm

☆ Spotify’s awkward three-way dance leads to slip-up
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Spotify (SPOT.N) is caught between the expectations of investors and major music labels. One bullish argument for Spotify’s stock is that higher prices will mean higher margins over time. First, some of Spotify’s customers pay annually, which means the price hike might take a while to come through. He’s locked in a long-term standoff with major labels like Universal Music Group (UMG.AS), which currently grab the overwhelming majority of Spotify’s revenue. In other words, Spotify’s future may be rosier than Ek is willing to let on.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Ek, coy, He’s, Karen Kwok, Liam Proud, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Spotify, Universal Music, Twitter, Thales, Thomson Locations: Spain

☆ Your monthly Spotify bill is going up for the first time in over a decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Haley Tenore | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

All Spotify Premium users will see a price increase, the first since its 2011 US launch. The plans will increase by $1, except for Spotify Duo, which will go up by $2. On Monday, Spotify announced that prices for its premium subscriptions will be increasing in the US and several other countries. Spotify Premium users will be greeted with this message informing them of the price change, upon opening the app. Spotify's CEO warned usWhile it's never fun when a service raises it's prices, Spotify's increase shouldn't come as a surprise.

Persons: Spotify's, Haley Tenore, it's, Daniel Ek Organizations: Spotify, Spotify Duo, Wall Street Journal, YouTube, Apple, Netflix Locations: Canada

☆ TikTok is hitting the accelerator on its Spotify rival as it tests music streaming in 3 new markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The TikTok spokesperson also said the company will have "more news to share on the launch of TikTok Music in the coming months." With TikTok Music, the company can connect the dots between music discovery and audio streaming. TikTok Music users can sync their accounts directly to TikTok, making it easy to hear a song snippet and then click over to stream the full track. TikTok Music is set to eventually replace Resso in the latter two markets. Outside streaming, TikTok has been experimenting with other ways to make money from its influence over music.

Persons: TikTok, Jonny Kaps, we've, Daniel Ek, ByteDance, Resso Organizations: Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok Locations: Australia, Mexico, Singapore, Brazil, Indonesia, India

☆ Check out this $110 million tech campus being built in Lithuania — the largest in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The development, from Lithuanian infrastructure firm Tech Zity, is inspired by British renovation projects like the Battersea Power Station and Tate Modern art gallery. Tech ZityLithuania is building a huge tech campus — Europe's largest — in the capital of Vilnius, as it looks to become the new tech capital of the Baltics. Lithuania's growing tech sceneLithuania's tech ecosystem has grown dramatically over the past decade, Darius Zakaitis, Tech Zity's founder, told CNBC. Tech Zity manages three tech campuses in Vilnius, including Tech Park, Tech Loft, and Tech Spa, which are home to companies like Google, Bored Panda and Kilo Health. Currently occupying 20,000 square meters, Tech Zity plans to reach 80,000 square meters over time, considering new campuses, existing locations, and other projects.

Persons: Darius Zakaitis, Zakaitis, Tech Zity, Daniel Ek, Tom, Kevin, Vineted Organizations: Tech, Battersea Power, Tate, Tech Zity, New, Vilnius, Tech Zity's, CNBC, Nord, Google, Kilo Health, Tech Zity U.S, Netflix, Spotify, Nord Security, Summit, Accel Locations: Lithuanian, Battersea, Tech Zity Lithuania, Vilnius, Baltics, Lithuania, Paris, Europe, Baltic, Nord, France, Germany, Lisbon, Portugal, EQT, Russia

☆ A prominent vaccine scientist says he was ‘stalked’ in front of home after Joe Rogan Twitter exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A prominent vaccine scientist said he was accosted outside of his home after a Twitter exchange with podcaster Joe Rogan, who challenged him to debate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. over the weekend. “I just was stalked in front of my home by a couple of antivaxers taunting me to debate RFKJr.,” Houston-based scientist Peter Hotez tweeted Sunday. The confrontation came after Hotez tweeted Saturday in support of a Vice article that criticized Spotify’s handling of vaccine misinformation on Rogan’s show. Investor Mark Cuban defended Hotez, jumping in the Twitter debate. “Trying to bully Dr Hotez is ridiculous,” Cuban tweeted, accusing Musk and Rogan of acting in their own self interest.

Persons: podcaster Joe Rogan, Robert F, Kennedy, Jr, “, ”, Peter Hotez, Hotez, I’m, Rogan, “ I’m, “ He’s, Elon Musk, ” “, Bill Ackman, Joe Rogan, Jerry Springer, ” Hotez, vaxer, Mark Cuban, Dr Hotez, ” Cuban, Musk, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Daniel Ek Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, National, Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, RFK, Twitter, MSNBC, Spotify Locations: New York, ” Houston, Covid

☆ 3 reasons why 'Succession' tech bro Lukas Matsson is Elon Musk crossed with Daniel Ek
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Viewers say the character seems to resemble aspects of both Elon Musk and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Alexander Skarsgard plays Matsson, the billionaire CEO of tech streaming media giant GoJo – a socially awkward, vaguely sinister tech bro. But viewers have been pointing out the character's similarities to two bosses in particular — Elon Musk, and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. "I definitely didn't try to play an Elon Musk character," Skarsgard said. In one recent episode of "Succession," Matsson tweets a "very nasty joke" after Kendall Roy's presentation about the Living+ initiative because he's less than pleased about the move.

☆ TikTok is quietly moving in on record labels' territory and insiders say its ambitions could end up 'pissing off' music partners
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Its music ambitions could ruffle feathers at record labels and publishers — unless it pays out. TikTok's app regularly sparks trends that help songs go viral, making it a favorite of marketers at major labels and independents. TikTok works closely with record labels and artists on promotional efforts like livestreamed concerts, in-person performances, and private listening parties with TikTok stars. Spotify has maintained a tenuous relationship with the labels over the years as it's sought to balance profit margins while splitting revenue with artists, labels, and publishers. Still, even as record labels and publishers push TikTok to pay more to music rights holders, they're investing more in the app.

☆ People with podcasts can't stop talking about AI, Spotify's CEO says, citing a 500% rise in episodes about it in the past month
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Spotify's CEO said the number of daily podcast episodes about AI have soared 500% in the last 30 days. But Daniel Ek added that he thinks AI will become "a big thing on the platform" as more tools come out. As the hype around AI continues to soar, Spotify podcasters are getting in on the action. The number of daily podcast episodes about AI has gone up by almost 500% on Spotify in the last 30 days, CEO Daniel Ek tweeted Thursday. As one example of the latest boom, all six of computer scientist Lex Fridman's podcast episodes in the last 30 days discuss AI, their descriptions show.

☆ Spotify takes down thousands of AI-generated songs after suspected bot use to inflate streams, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tens of thousands of its songs were taken down by Spotify, the Financial Times reported. Universal Music warned streaming services that the number of streams had been boosted by bots. Spotify has taken down tens of thousands of songs which were generated by the AI startup Boomy, the Financial Times reported. In a statement sent to Insider, Spotify said: "Artificial streaming is a longstanding, industry-wide issue that Spotify is working to stamp out across our service." The FT also previously reported that Universal told streaming platforms to block AI services from training themselves on its songs.

☆ The creator of a viral AI-generated Drake song says it's scary how easy it was to make the music sound real
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A student behind some popular AI-generated music says it was easy to make the songs sound real. A student behind some of the popular AI-generated music on TikTok discussed how easy it was to make the songs sound real. Chavez has been going viral on TikTok for his AI-generated music over the last few months. Chavez runs acapella versions of songs through AI models that are trained to sound like famous musicians, The Verge reported. Another viral AI-generated song, "Heart on My Sleeve," which mimicked Drake and The Weeknd, went viral last month.

☆ Microsoft made a big bet with ChatGPT. Months later, it’s already paying off.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft bet billions on OpenAI — its gamble is already paying off. Some analysts said Microsoft's successful integration of AI signals that it has already pulled ahead of Google. They even projected that Microsoft's cloud service Azure could be on track to surpass long-dominant Amazon Web Services. My teammate Paayal Zaveri highlights how Microsoft's AI wager has made it a surprising leader in tech's hottest field. He hit $2 million by the end of 2020, and in 2022 alone, he sold $4 million worth of products.

☆ Spotify's CEO says the music industry has 'legitimate concerns' about AI-generated songs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said concerns from labels and music companies about AI are "legitimate." His comments come after AI-generated songs that sound like popular artists went viral this month. The music industry has "legitimate concerns" about songs generated by AI, the CEO of Spotify said. Daniel Ek addressed the industry's growing unease about AI music in Spotify's first quarter earnings call Tuesday and said it's working with partners to come up with solutions. Grimes, the former partner of Elon Musk and mother to two of his children, tweeted Monday that she'd share half the royalties from any AI-generated song using her voice.

☆ Spotify's monthly active users top 500 million, beat estimate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The number of monthly active users rose to 515 million in the first quarter, beating Spotify's guidance and analysts' forecast of 500 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Premium subscribers, who account for most of its revenue, rose 15% to 210 million, topping estimates of 206 million. The company forecast monthly active users of 530 million. Spotify last year laid out plans to get one billion users by 2030 and reach $100 billion in annual revenue. Spotify's current-quarter revenue forecast of 3.2 billion euros also missed expectations of 3.26 billion euros.

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