Daniel Ek Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Spotify has announced its plans for Cannes Lions, the world’s largest celebration of the advertising and creative communications industry. Running June 19-22, Spotify Beach will include masterclasses with appearances by Emma Chamberlain, “Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper and soccer star Cesc Fàbregas. Daily programming will also include sound bath meditation sessions, an immersive Songs of Summer soundscape, a Football Club Barcelona play zone, a coffee and juice bar and a custom sunglasses gifting station. The full calendar of events is below.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify packed on more users than it expected in Q1 but revenue fell short of its guidance, which the company blamed on headwinds in its advertising business. For the first quarter of 2023, the company, total monthly active users (free and paid) grew by 22% year-over-year to 515 million “driven by strength in both developed and developing markets, and nearly all age groups,” the company said. Spotify Premium subscribers grew to 210 million, a net gain of 5 million in the quarter, which beat its expectations with “outperformance across all regions, led by Europe and Latin America.” Total revenue grew 14% year-over-year to €3.0 billion, below Spotify’s expectation of €3.1 billion “due to macro-related variability in our advertising business.” The company reported a Q1 operating loss of €156 million, which was better than projected, helped by lower marketing spend.

EXCLUSIVE: Spotify is continuing its move to ramp up its video podcasts business.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify is releasing what it calls its biggest app redesign to date — revealing a new “dynamic” mobile interface aimed at providing listeners a more active role in discovering new audio content and giving creators new ways to share their work. The newly redesigned Spotify app will roll out to users worldwide in waves, starting Wednesday (March 8), the company said. It unveiled the new user interface at Stream On, its second event showcasing new features, creator tools and programming. The update is most significant change to Spotify’s mobile app since it debuted more than a decade ago and is about “bringing Spotify to life,” CEO Daniel Ek said at the event.

Steve Boom — who, as MusiCares chair, also played a huge role in the organization’s distribution of more than $25 million in pandemic relief to the music community — will be honored as the UJA’s Music Visionary of the Year with a luncheon on June 7 at New York’s Ziegfield Ballroom. He will be saluted for his professional and philanthropic leadership, and the UJA will amplify its substantial efforts in confronting antisemitism and helping those in need. Previous recipients have included SiriusXM’s Scott Greenstein, Sony Music Group CEO Rob Stringer, Republic Records co-founders Avery and Monte Lipman, iHeartMedia chief Bob Pittman, Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek, Warner Records co-chairman and COO Tom Corson and Atlantic Records co-chairman and COO Julie Greenwald.

“In hindsight, I got a little carried away and over-invested relative to the uncertainty I saw in the market,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said this morning as the company reported a jump in users but wider losses, a week after announcing a reorganization of top management and hundreds of layoffs.  

Dawn Ostroff is departing Spotify as the company’s head of content and advertising amid cutbacks affecting 6% of the company’s workforce.

Spotify blew past subscriber, user and revenue forecasts for the September quarter and said it will explore a U.S. price increase after recent moves by Apple and YouTube.

Netflix miniseries The Playlist have heaped praise on the series.The six-episode docu-drama, which was released on the streaming site last week, charts the rise of Spotify in a “fictionalised” account, following co-founder Daniel Ek and the idea to start a music streaming platform amid piracy in the music industry.“I’m convinced that The Playlist on @netflix is the best original I have seen on the platform in a while,” wrote one viewer on Twitter.Another said: “Don’t sleep on #ThePlaylist on @netflix. It is honestly one of the best limited series I have watched in a long time and gives you a great insight into the workings of the music industry and streaming business.”“THE PLAYLIST on Netflix — a dramatisation of the founding of Spotify — is pretty great.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify disclosed that it paid about $119 million in cash for audiobook distributor Findaway when the deal closed last month — representing its entry into the category dominated today by Amazon’s Audible.The company paid €117 million ($118.8 million) in cash for Findaway, Spotify revealed in an SEC filing Wednesday, after reporting better-than-expected Q2 results. Of that amount, 71% (€83 million) was accounted for as goodwill, which is the estimated value of an asset based on the established reputation of a business.In addition, Spotify agreed to additional cash payments of €13 million ($13.2 million), which are contingent on the continued employment of certain Findaway employees.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says the “dire macro environment” of inflation and other headwinds has not slowed the company’s momentum.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify turned in strong numbers for the second quarter, beating expectations for total and paid subscriber adds and reporting 23% revenue growth.Monthly active users grew 19% to 433 million, a net gain of 19 million in Q2 and 5 million above guidance — Spotify’s largest ever Q2 growth. The company attributed the gains to reactivations in Europe and “Gen Z strength in Latin America.”Spotify’s Premium Subscribers grew 14% to 188 million, topping its guidance by 6 million, “aided by promotional intake and household plans,” the company said in announcing results.Click here to sign up for Variety’s free Strictly Business newsletter covering earnings, financial news, and more.Total revenue was €2.9 billion, up 23%, and ad-supported revenue jumped 31% to €360 million, reaching an all-time high as a percentage of total revenue at 13%.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify announced that it has closed the deal to buy audiobook distributor Findaway, touting the potential to expand beyond music and podcasts into the “substantial market opportunity” for audiobooks.The audio streamer has not disclosed the financial terms of the Findaway deal, announced in November. Originally, Spotify had expected the acquisition, which was pending regulatory clearances, to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.In the audiobook space, “just as we’ve done in podcasting, expect us to play to win,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said last week at the company’s 2022 investor day.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify is reducing its hiring forecast by 25% amid broader economic uncertainty, according to a companywide memo sent by chief exec Daniel Ek on Wednesday.Spotify will “reduce hiring growth by 25%,” according to Ek’s memo. The email also said that the company will “continue to still hire and grow” but that “we are just going to slow that pace and be a bit more prudent with the absolute level of new hires over the next few quarters.”As of the end of March, Spotify said it had 8,230 full-time employees globally.At the streamer’s 2022 investor day event last week, Spotify CFO Paul Vogel said that, amid macroeconomic headwinds like inflation, the company was evaluating its headcount growth in the “near term.” “We are clearly aware of the increasing uncertainty regarding the global economy,” Vogel said.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify has created an 18-member council to advise the company on policies addressing harmful content on the audio platform “while making sure we respect creator expression.”The move comes after a backlash earlier this year against Spotify and Joe Rogan, host of the No. 1 podcast on the service, over accusations that “The Joe Rogan Experience” spread COVID misinformation.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify disclosed some key financial metrics of its podcast business for the first time — and while the $1 billion-plus the streamer has invested into podcasting so far has been a drag on overall profits, the company expects podcasts to eventually have a better margin profile than its core music biz.The company outlined its long-term strategy and financial prospects at its 2022 Investor Day event Tuesday.In 2021, Spotify’s podcast business generated nearly €200 million in revenue, according to CFO Paul Vogel — up 300% year over year. About 30% of Spotify’s user base, or more than 125 million monthly users, listened to podcasts in the first quarter of 2022, representing 7% of total listening hours on the platform in the period.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicSpotify has revealed its performance and panel lineup for this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, taking place Monday, June 20 to Thursday, June 23.Back for an encore is Spotify Beach, which will make its home on the Croisette daily from dusk till dawn.Performances take place each night and will feature Kendrick Lamar, DJ Pee .Wee, aka Anderson .Paak, Kaytranada, the Black Keys and Post Malone, plus an as-yet-unannounced artist.DJ Henrie, the co-host of the Spotify Original Who We Be podcast, will be spinning as Spotify’s ‘House DJ’ throughout the week.Elsewhere on Spotify’s Lions agenda, founder and CEO Daniel Ek will sit for a talk on the future of media, creators and fandom, moderated by Sara Fischer of Axios.

In the wake of last month’s news of Courtney Holt’s exit from Spotify, the company has made several moves in its exec structure as it continues to expand in podcasting and creator-driven content.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSpotify CEO Daniel Ek revealed that he is putting his money where his mouth is, releasing a Twitter message announcing that he will invest $50 million in the music streaming company.“I’ve always been vocal about my strong belief in Spotify and what we are building. So I am putting that belief into action this week by investing $50M in $SPOT.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify shares closed down 12.4% Wednesday — hitting their lowest point in the company’s history as a public company — after the audio streamer’s paid-subscriber numbers disappointed investors. The chief concern pushing the stock down seemed to be that Spotify may be on the same trajectory as Netflix in hitting a wall in subscriber growth.The stock ended the day at $96.67 per share, giving Spotify a market capitalization of less than $19 billion.

Spotify said it is not experiencing any negative effects from blowback over podcast hosts like Joe Rogan, with the company’s first-quarter results exceeding Wall Street forecasts.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCourtney Holt, a top executive in Spotify’s podcasting business and a four-year veteran of the company, is leaving the streaming giant, a source close to the situation has confirmed to Variety. The source said that Holt’s departure was his decision and is amicable, and that he will stay on as an advisor to the company for the next several months at least.

Spotify is facing renewed criticism from US Congress over its Discovery Mode feature, which allows artists to receive additional exposure for a reduced royalty rate.Three Congress members – Yvette D. Clarke, Judy Chu and Tony Cardenas, who represent the Congressional Caucus on Multicultural Media, have sent a letter to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek criticising the feature.In exchange for a boost in visibility, artists and their labels agree to receive a “promotional” royalty rate on those streams, believed to be lower than the standard rate through the feature, which was announced in November 2020.Highlighting this issue, the letter said via Variety: “Choosing to accept reduced royalty payments is a serious risk for musicians, who would only benefit if Discovery Mode yields more total streams for an artist across their entire catalogue, not just the track covered by the program.”“And if two competing artists both enroll their newest track in the program, any benefit could be cancelled out, meaning that the only profit goes to your company’s bottom line.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThree members of Congress have written to Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek, criticizing him over the company’s policy of promoting an artist’s music on its Discovery Mode platform in exchange for a reduced royalty rate. Among other notes, the letter requests that Spotify label such as paid content; the company announced the policy, which has come under heavy criticism, in 2020.The letter, written on official Congress stationary and obtained by Variety, is dated March 26, 2022 and signed by Reps.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOne might think that, just weeks after his company scraped through the biggest crisis of its existence — its stubborn defense of giving a gigantic international platform, not to mention more than $200 million, to Joe Rogan and his destructive, malignant opinions — Spotify’s Daniel Ek might exercise a little caution and humility.One might think that, after paying millions to Capitol Hill lobbyists in an ongoing battle to pay less to songwriters — the very foundation of his company’s existence — than the Copyright Royalty Board decreed it should pay, he wouldn’t spend even more millions on something as flashy and business-uncritical as sponsorship of a soccer team, especially with Russian bombs killing hundreds of Ukrainian civilians every day. But one would be wrong.

Spotify has agreed to change its rules on playlists following the release of a 1000-track protest album by cult indie band The Pocket Gods, which railed against the streaming platform’s payment rates.Spotify has been accused of paying artists as little as £0.002 for each stream on its service, with royalties only being activated if a song is listened to for at least 30 seconds.A 2015 i article on the economics of streaming then influenced The Pocket Gods to release ‘1000×30 – Nobody Makes Money Anymore’ on Spotify on February 8, with each of the record’s 1000 tracks clocking in at around the 30-second mark.“I saw the [2015] article and it made me think, ‘Why write longer songs when we get paid little enough for just 30 seconds?’” frontman Mark Christopher Lee told i earlier this month.The stunt by the St Albans band, which has seen their protest album clock up nearly 600,000 total streams, has now drawn a response from Spotify, with founder Daniel Ek reportedly reaching out to Lee to set up a meeting between The Pocket Gods and Spotify’s head of artist relations.“Spotify said we’re ahead of the curve as shorter songs are the future – just look at TikTok,” Lee told i in a new interview. “They said that I can pitch 30 second tracks to their playlists [drivers of chart hits] for consideration – I wasn’t able to do this previously as the songs were considered too short.“So next week I’m releasing a 30-second single called ‘Noel Gallagher Is Jealous Of My Studio’.”Lee added that he was told that pay rates to songwriters would increase when Spotify rolls out an increase in its subscription price, which is currently priced at £9.99 for premium users.

Like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and India Arie, Ava DuVernay’s Array is no longer doing business with Spotify.

Like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and India Arie, Ava DuVernay’s Array is no longer doing business with Spotify.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify’s deal with Joe Rogan, the popular podcast host who has attracted a swarm of controversy in recent weeks, is worth more than $200 million, according to a new report by the New York Times.Citing anonymous sources, the Times reported that “the true value” of the deal negotiated between Spotify and Rogan — spanning three and a half years — was “at least $200 million, with the possibility of more.” Previously, the pact had been said to be worth more than $100 million, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Over the past month, Rogan has faced a backlash from Spotify users and artists over his use of the N-word in past episodes of his podcast and accusations that Rogan’s show has spread COVID misinformation. On the Feb.

Spotify-exclusive podcast The Joe Rogan Experience this week, both on-stage and during an episode of the podcast itself.Rogan’s podcast recently prompted protest from the likes of Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash and Nils Lofgren, with the musicians pulling their catalogues from the streaming platform.Young sparked the exodus late last month, when he requested his music be taken off Spotify, citing the platform “spreading false information about vaccines” and specifically targeting Rogan.It came after hundreds of scientists and medical professionals asked Spotify to address COVID misinformation on its platform, sparked by comments made on Rogan’s podcast – calling the host’s actions “not only objectionable and offensive but also medically and culturally dangerous”.In response, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said that, while the platform wouldn’t be severing ties with the controversial figure, they would be adding content advisories to podcast episodes which discussed COVID-19, directing users to their dedicated information hub.Rogan himself addressed the boycott on Instagram, telling fans: “I don’t always get it right. I will do my best to try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people perspectives so we can maybe find a better point of view.”Shortly after, Rogan found himself embroiled in controversy again when songwriter India.Arie shared a video that compiled instances the podcast host had used the N-word on his podcast.