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☆ 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

“The longer-form videos on YouTube are actually in decline year over year,” Mr. Lynch said. Some invested heavily in building in-house studios or bought them, as Vox Media did when it acquired the film and TV producer Epic in 2019. Perhaps the most ambitious of these studios was Condé Nast Entertainment, a prominent division within Condé Nast in charge of developing articles from publications such as The New Yorker, Wired and Vanity Fair — intellectual property, in Hollywood parlance — into major motion pictures and TV shows. “Cat Person,” a film based on a viral New Yorker short story that explores uncomfortable relationship dynamics, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year. And online viewership is increasingly shifting to platforms like TikTok and YouTube, where shorter content is king and monetization elusive.

Persons: ” Mr, Lynch, Condé Nast, Dawn Ostroff, Agnes Chu, David Grann, Robert Redford Organizations: YouTube, Hollywood, Vox Media, Condé Nast Entertainment, Yorker, Wired, CW, Spotify, Disney, Sundance, Globe Locations: ”, Condé, Hollywood

☆ Prince Harry and Meghan's deal with Spotify ends as they agree to 'part ways'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Diana Dasrath | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, leave Canada House on January 7, 2020, in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, have announced another high-profile split. The couple's lucrative deal to produce podcasts for Spotify has come to an end, both parties revealed Thursday. The royals' deal with Spotify was reported to have been made in 2020 for a reported $20 million. The Spotify spokesperson did not confirm the cost of the deal, but said that recent layoffs at the company had "no relation" to the decision to end the deal with Harry and Meghan.

Persons: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of, Samir Hussein, Harry, Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Mindy Kaling, Constance Wu, Jameela Jamil, Paris, Duke, Dawn Ostroff, Duchess, Ostroff Organizations: Spotify, Wall Street, NBC, Paris Hilton Locations: Duchess of Sussex, Canada, London, England, Los Angeles, California

☆ Spotify to lay off 200 workers in podcast division
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 5 (Reuters) - Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) said on Monday it would cut 200 jobs from its podcast unit in its second round of layoffs, as the company restructures the business after years of heavy investment. Spotify had spent aggressively to build up its podcast business in recent years, hoping the higher engagement levels offered by the format will bring in more advertisers. In response, Spotify cut 6% of its workforce earlier in 2023 and announced the departure of Dawn Ostroff, who helped shape its podcast business and guided it through controversies such as the backlash around Joe Rogan's show for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Sahar Elhabashi, who heads the podcast business, said on Monday that the company has "made the difficult but necessary decision to make a strategic realignment." Spotify also said it will merge its Parcast and Gimlet studios into a single Spotify Studios division, which will produce Spotify originals.

Persons: Dawn Ostroff, Joe Rogan's, Sahar Elhabashi, Elhabashi, Tiyashi Datta, Vinay Dwivedi, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Spotify Technology SA, Spotify, Spotify Studios, Thomson Locations: Sweden, Bengaluru

☆ Spotify Adds Users, Reports Loss After Big Investments in Podcasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Anne Steele | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Spotify Technology SA reported strong user growth but another quarterly loss after the company invested extensively to build its podcast business. The audio giant, which last week laid off employees and reorganized its top brass, said it aims to become a more efficient business this year following an intense period of spending. Spotify’s chief content and advertising business officer, Dawn Ostroff , will leave the company. She spearheaded the company’s expansion into podcasting, helping acquire studios and ink deals with high-profile figures such as Joe Rogan, Michelle Obama and Kim Kardashian.

Apart from the forecast of half a billion users, Spotify also expects premium subscribers to reach 207 million in the current quarter and revenue of 3.1 billion euros ($3.35 billion). Analysts were expecting 202 million subscribers and revenue of 3.05 billion euros. Spotify last year laid out plans to get 1 billion users by 2030 and to reach $100 billion revenue annually. "Spotify will double down on things that worked well and stop doing the things that don't work," he said. In 2023, the company expects revenue to begin to grow faster than operating expenses, which have jumped due to headcount growth and higher advertising costs.

☆ Spotify to trim 6% of workforce in latest tech layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) said on Monday it plans to cut 6% of its workforce and would take a related charge of up to nearly $50 million, adding to the massive layoffs in the technology sector in preparation for a possible recession. The tech industry is facing a demand downturn after two years of pandemic-powered growth during which it had hired aggressively. "I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth," he added, echoing a sentiment voiced by other tech bosses in recent months. Reuters GraphicsSmall figurines are seen in front of displayed Spotify logo in this illustration taken February 11, 2022. Ostroff helped shape Spotify's podcast business and guided it through backlash around Joe Rogan's show for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19.

☆ Spotify to cut 6% of jobs; content head to depart
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The tech industry is facing a demand downturn after two years of pandemic-powered growth during which it had hired aggressively. “I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth,” he added, echoing a sentiment voiced by other tech bosses in recent months. It said Dawn Ostroff, the head of content and advertising, was leaving after an over four-year stint at the company. Ostroff helped shape Spotify’s podcast business and guided it through backlash around Joe Rogan’s show for allegedly spreading misinformation about Covid-19. The company said it is appointing Alex Norström, head of the freemium business, and research and development boss Gustav Söderström as co-presidents.

☆ Spotify to cut 6% of jobs, content head to depart
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That has led firms from Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) to Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) to shed thousands of jobs. "I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth," he added, echoing a sentiment voiced by other tech bosses in recent months. It said Dawn Ostroff, the head of content and advertising, was leaving after an over four-year stint at the company. Ostroff helped shape Spotify's podcast business and guided it through backlash around Joe Rogan's show for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19. The company said it is appointing Alex Norström, head of the freemium business, and research and development boss Gustav Söderström as co-presidents.

☆ Spotify to trim 6% of workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Music streaming firm Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) plans to cut 6% of its workforce, the company said on Monday, a move that will add to a glut of layoffs in the technology sector as companies prepare for a possible recession. Tech companies are facing a demand downturn after two years of pandemic-driven growth during which they had hired aggressively. Spotify said it will incur about 35 million euros ($38.06 million) to 45 million euros in severance-related charges. Spotify had about 9,800 full-time employees, as of Sept. 30. ($1 = 0.9196 euros)Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Spotify to trim 6% of workforce, content head to depart
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Daniel Ek, chief executive officer and co-founder of Spotify AB, stands for a photograph after a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Music streaming firm Spotify Technology said on Monday it plans to cut 6% of its workforce, or roughly 600 jobs, adding to a glut of layoffs in the technology sector as companies prepare for a possible recession. The company also said its chief content and advertising business officer, Dawn Ostroff, will depart as part of a broader reorganization. Spotify, which had about 9,800 full-time employees as of Sept. 30, said it expects to incur about 35 million euros ($38.06 million) to 45 million euros in severance-related charges. The company had said in October that it would slow down hiring for the rest of the year and into 2023.

☆ Spotify is laying off around 6% of its workforce — about 600 employees — as tech job cuts continue to mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Spotify said Monday it plans to reduce headcount by around 6%, equating to about 600 employees. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. Based on that figure, a workforce reduction of around 6% would equate to about 588 workers losing their jobs. In addition to the layoffs, Dawn Ostroff, chief content and advertising business officer, is set to leave Spotify, Ek said. Spotify's announcement comes as other major tech companies, including Google, Meta, and Twitter, cut jobs in an effort to slash costs.

☆ Spotify cuts 6% of its workforce, content chief departs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Spotify has a total workforce of around 9,800 people, which means the cuts impact about 600 employees. Dawn Ostroff, Spotify's head of content, is also leaving the firm. Ostroff, a former president of Conde Nast Entertainment, joined Spotify in 2018 to help the company grow its fledgling advertising and podcasting businesses. In her time at Spotify, Ostroff signed Barack and Michelle Obama's production company Higher Ground Productions to have the former U.S. president and first lady work on exclusive podcasts for Spotify. She also led the deal to get exclusive rights to The Joe Rogan show and was responsible for negotiating exclusive podcasting deals with Kim Kardashian, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

☆ Spotify to cut 6% of its workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Spotify (SPOT) said Monday that it will cut 6% of its workforce to reduce costs, joining tech companies including Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) in slashing headcount as the global economy slows. The Stockholm-headquartered music streaming business had about 9,800 employees globally as of September 30, according to an earnings report. The company’s stock, which has nearly halved in value over the past 12 months, gained more than 4% in premarket trading in New York. Over the past three months, Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Facebook (FB)-parent Meta have announced plans to cut more than 50,000 employees from their collective ranks. Spotify’s decision to shed about 590 jobs is part of a wider reorganization to improve efficiency and “speed up decision-making,” according to Ek.

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the market Monday: Industrials, Salesforce activists, semis
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Another activist investor, Elliott Management, takes a big stake in Club holding Salesforce (CRM), according to media reports . Same upgrade for Club holding Advanced Micro Devices (AMD); PT increase to $85 from $70. Club holding Ford (F) will have to lower prices for Mustang Mach-E. Not much competition for F-150 Lightning EV pick-up. JPMorgan downgrades Levi Strauss (LEVI) to neutral from overweight (buy); cuts price target by $2 to $17 per share. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

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