Tag: inside spotify

Making Spotify’s Exclusive Content Inclusive to Creators and Listeners

August 19, 2021

At Spotify, we are committed to creating an array of podcasts that engage, inspire, and inform our listeners and can be streamed wherever and whenever, for free. Streaming podcasts isn’t just for your entertainment, however; streaming also provides greater insights for our creators, helping them see what is resonating with audiences. These valuable insights, only available thanks to streaming, allow us to create better shows and help you discover more shows. We are able to suggest and introduce you to programming we think you’ll like based on your listening, from podcasts to music and more.

We want to acknowledge that some have pointed out to us that their favorite Spotify-produced podcasts have disappeared from their usual podcast feeds. Therefore, we wanted to take the time to explain where and why these changes have been made, and we hope it brings clarity and a window into our podcasting strategy.

To enhance our discovery and editorial prowess, in the last few months we’ve brought some of our shows exclusively to Spotify. What does that mean? Shows like Serial Killers, Horoscope Today, Motherhacker, and How to Save a Planet will still be available for free, but only on Spotify. Many podcast enthusiasts have found some of their favorite podcasts through our popular playlists powered by your algorithmic listening, like Your Daily Drive, or through our playlists where our expert Spotify editors have personally curated the best episodes.

It’s also important to point out what this change does not mean: that you have to pay to listen to Spotify-produced shows. You’ll still be able to listen to your favorite Spotify Originals for free on our platform.

Although this may require a shift in listening habits, we want to share more about why we are doing this. Spotify’s ultimate mission is to connect millions of creators to billions of listeners around the world and help those creators live off their art. We’re also invested in pushing the medium of audio forward by enabling greater creative freedom and driving the future of audio. 

By utilizing streaming technologies, we’ve been able to create new and innovative shows like The Get Up—a daily morning show that mixes pop culture conversation with a personalized playlist. At The Ringer, a Spotify studio, we recently produced a new type of show called Black Girl Songbook—a weekly production that celebrates a different Black artist per episode, mixing talk and commentary with full music tracks. This unique format, available only on Spotify, is also thanks to Spotify’s streaming technology and global catalogue of music.

We believe that streaming is the future of all audio listening and that our technology can provide the opportunity for the podcast ecosystem to grow, innovate, and ultimately create more opportunities for creators across the globe. It is also our priority to keep our world-class content both accessible and free to all users across the globe. 

Enjoy our content on Spotify through our Free or Premium services and help enhance the experience for all listeners. Check back for more about our upcoming slate of new shows and hear directly from our hosts via the Spotify: For the Record podcast and blog.

LGBTQIA+ Spotify Employees Share How They Claim Their Space

June 30, 2021

Spotify kicked off June by announcing this year’s Pride campaign, CLAIM YOUR SPACE. The experience, complete with playlists, podcasts, and permanent in-person murals, served to celebrate the commitment and resilience of LGBTQIA+ creators. It also recognized the ways audio and art have always been avenues for LGBTQIA+ expression. We encouraged the queer community of creators and listeners to continue to make noise, make their presence known, and make their own rules. 

We also used Pride Month as a time to encourage, empower, and amplify the voices of LGBTQIA+ Spotifiers within our own community. So as Pride Month comes to a close, our Life at Spotify social channels shared how several queer employees “claim their space” in the workplace, as well as the songs and aritsts that help them live their identities loud and proud. 

Jordan (he/him)

9 Ways to Use Spotify to Ace Your Way Back to School

September 6, 2019

With the northern hemisphere’s summer holidays disappearing like a sunset over the beach, it’s time to face the facts: school is back in session. But just because summer lovin’ is over doesn’t mean the streaming has to be: Spotify makes for a great study partner. This school year, double down on your history lecture via podcast, easily share your favorite tunes with classmates, or get serious about studying with the perfect playlist.

Take a look at our nine recommendations for some back-to-school streaming.

  1. Podcasts for all occasions

Continue learning outside the classroom with podcasts, and impress your teacher with your newfound knowledge of Greek mythology, or explore brand-new topics and wow the class. Click on “Podcasts” in the Spotify app and explore a wide range of them, including many Spotify Originals.

  1. Parlez-vous français?

Are words failing you? If you enjoyed summer so much you forgot your French (or Spanish, or German, or English), we understand. Gain back those foreign-language skills, or prove that Latin isn’t dead, by listening to the language courses of your choosing via podcast during study hour.

  1. Listen offline

Don’t worry if the gym was built with cinder blocks and Wi-Fi there is decades away. With a Spotify Premium account, you can download your playlists before you hit the mats, then you can listen offline. 

  1. Share your favorite lists and songs with friends

Shakespeare said, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” but he didn’t know Spotify was going to be a thing. With Spotify Codes, you can easily add friends’ playlists and songs and share your own. Learn how it works here.

  1. Create a shared playlist with your friends

With a shared playlist, everyone with a Spotify account can contribute their favorite songs. This is not only fun in the moment, but it serves as a fantastic bit of nostalgia for years later, when you’re reminiscing on the songs you and your friends chose together. Learn how to make a shared playlist here.

  1. Back to a normal bedtime

Summer vacay can mean many late evenings—and a reality check when getting back into a responsible-person sleep schedule. With Spotify’s playlists of serene music to relax you before bed, you’ll be sawing logs in no time. You can find all playlists in the sleeping hub here.

  1. Playlists for in-the-zone studying

Do you require a backdrop of ’90s hip-hop to drown out the world around you? Or maybe lyrics distract you and you study better with white noise or classical music. Spotify has playlists that suit your fancy and allow neither classmates nor siblings to come between you and your studies. Check out our focus hub with various styles of playlists here.

  1. Silent pauses, be gone!

If you’re studying and need constant music—meaning you loathe those endless empty seconds where one song ends and the next one begins—it is within your power to change that. Click “Settings,” scroll down and press “Play,” and you can set the pause of your track transitions.

  1. Continue listening to similar songs when your jams end

When your playlist or album ends, you can let Spotify generate music similar to what you just listened to by allowing Autoplay. Just look under “Settings,” then go to “Playback” and choose “Autoplay.”

This school season, you can enjoy the benefits of Spotify Premium—unlimited skips, on-demand plays, and downloadable playlists—at a student-friendly cost. Check out Spotify Premium for Students to Learn More.

Sten Garmark, Spotify’s VP of Product, Unpacks Our Ubiquity Strategy

May 9, 2019

Perhaps you start your morning by streaming a pick-me-up playlist on your phone. Then, as you settle in at work you queue up some motivational songs on your laptop. After you get home, you play a podcast on your voice-activated speaker as you prep dinner. Because Spotify can be with you wherever you are, in any environment, audio opportunity abounds.

We sat down with Sten Garmark, our VP of Product, to learn more about the times, places, and situations in which audio can play a role—but with less work needed to access and play the content you want.

Tell us about your mission at Spotify and, specifically, your focus on ubiquity. How will listeners benefit?

As the delivery of audio content becomes all the more intuitive and seamless, our ubiquity strategy involves creating a truly frictionless experience for consumers. In other words, it’s to take whatever moment you’re in—if you’re driving, in your home, if you’re on your headphones, if you’re exercising—and make sure that you can get to your Spotify experience as easily and as quickly as possible.

The end state here is to ensure that Spotify aligns more deeply with the multiple devices in your life so that you won’t need to find the songs or podcasts to suit the moment—they will find you.

How do we deliver on the promise of ubiquity at Spotify? And what’s the entry point?

Our ubiquity strategy is very much mobile first, since most of our users today are coming in on their phones. If that’s their first touchpoint, then it’s about expanding that to more situations. We think that’s going to continue for quite some time.

From there, we need to be technically integrated with all the devices around you to enable a great Spotify experience that, to you as a consumer, intuitively works. That requires making sure that the integration for our partners is simple, such as with a voice-activated speaker.

At the end of the day, we need to deliver a simple solution for all: our users, partners, and creators.

Describe the opportunity for audio ahead. How do you ensure that listeners are aligned with that vision? 

As mentioned, the strategy is to make everything less complicated. It’s reducing work that you have to do—making sure that you don’t have to be that technically advanced to be able to get to Spotify wherever you are. If there are, say, currently five steps to navigate something, we at Spotify ask, why should our users have to navigate at all? Can we remove steps? 

We believe that we can take users on a journey to reevaluate audio and get more out of their lives with content from creators—in the right place at the right time. We think it’s less about listeners aligning with our vision than it is about us aligning with their behavior.

Some say that there can be too much screen time. Is there such a thing as too much audio as well?

It isn’t really a comparable analogy. For example, music speaks more to moods. It’s complementary: it’s not taking you away from your family, it’s not taking you away from your social interactions. It enhances those moments of your life. And with podcasts, we see that many people want to engage with longer-form content that goes deeper into a variety of topics, giving them a richer understanding of the world around them. We hope that that can be a really powerful force in society. 

Visit Explore Spotify to find playlists that suit a variety of moods and situations.

Kodcentrum and Spotify Make Coding Cool for Kids in Sweden

November 30, 2018

Spotify wants kids to know that code isn’t just computer language—it’s everywhere, even in their favorite music, apps, and games. In fact, anyone can learn code, and there’s no age requirement for speaking the language of the future. That’s also the aim of Kodcentrum, a program that runs coding workshops for children in Sweden. Four years ago, we became the first main sponsor of Kodcentrum, and ever since, we’ve worked together to help alter the landscape of programming in Europe. Together through our weekly Code Clubs at Spotify Stockholm (and larger initiatives like last year’s Hackathon, where 400 fifth graders coded at Stockholm’s City Hall), we hope to inspire and shape the next generation of brilliant thinkers, inventors, and creators.

Kodcentrum was founded in 2014 when social entrepreneur Johan Wendt read an EU Commission report that stated Europe would face an absence of 1 million programmers in 2020. “By introducing children to programming early on, we want to empower them to take part of and influence the digital democracy. We also hope that we can contribute to the improvement of their position in the workforce, and by doing so, promote equality in tech,” Lisa Söderlund, education manager at Kodcentrum,” Lisa Söderlund, education manager at Kodcentrum says. Now, through the program’s clubs and hack events, aspiring young developers receive hands-on instruction from professionals who teach coding in real and relatable ways.

Each semester, Kodcentrum and Spotify’s Code Club initiative hosts up to 25 students from grades 4-6. Over the course of nine weeks, kids explore digital creation and problem solving through visual coding in the children’s programming language Scratch. During each 90-minute session, young coders work with Spotify volunteers to create computer games—including “The Flying Whale” and “Bug Race”—that make coding fun and satisfying.

“The best thing about the Code Club is that many of the children still haven’t been made aware of stereotypes that dictate who can or can’t become a good programmer,” says volunteer Andreas Johansson, Associate Data Scientist at Spotify. “We have a 50/50 gender ratio and can reach out to kids with completely different backgrounds. Helping the tech business become more equal in the future feels incredibly good and important to me.”

While Code Club is rewarding for Spotifiers, it’s even better for the kids who participate.

“It is fun. At the Code Club you get a lot of help, which you don’t get when you code at home,” says Vincent.

Milo loves making games: “That’s the most fun thing with coding.”

Sisters Valetta and Angelina agree that “the best thing is to make games and see what it’s like to work with coding.”

Kodcentrum also works with schools and teachers to introduce coding in school education. “When we teach kids coding, we are improving their chances on the labor market and ensuring that companies like ours can be successful in the future,” says Katarina Berg, Chief Human Resources Officer at Spotify. Inspiring and enabling all children, regardless of their gender or background, to see coding as a career path that’s open to them has been a major goal of the initiative. “Every child should have the same opportunity to learn how to code. It’s a matter of democracy, really,” Berg continues.

For the kids involved in Code Club, working with real, professional coding volunteers has made the possibility of a career in developing a more tangible reality. Each week, the kids show up ready, willing, and eager to learn.

“The program gives kids the chance to ask questions and gain a deeper understanding,” Söderlund says. “This contributes to a better understanding of who a coder is. It could be you, or me, or anyone else.”

“We want them to understand that they can be a part of it if they want to. They can be the ones programming a Spotify app in the future.”

Step Inside Spotify’s Colorful and Creative Stockholm HQ

November 28, 2018

Welcome to Spotify’s Stockholm HQ, where music greets you right at the front door. We designed our new office to be an inviting retreat in the heart of central Stockholm’s Urban Escape, a city block dedicated to innovation and emblematic of an ever-changing Stockholm.

Like Spotify’s New York office, nothing in Stockholm is too trendy; Instead, we’ve embraced simple elements of Scandinavian tradition—including nature—which place focus on people and productivity. Its spaces are sleek, modern, and welcoming for visitors and Spotifiers alike. From meetings and presentations to ping-pong tournaments and artist studio sessions, there’s plenty of room for all who enter to create, collaborate, and inspire.

Ready for a tour? Just follow the sounds of your favorite Spotify playlists (the music streams all day long).

Welcome to Spotify Reception

There’s no shortage of new ideas to develop, so clean lines, comfortable spaces, and an abundance of color help motivate—and offer down time when needed. This philosophy first takes shape in our cozy reception area, which makes a gracious first impression with natural hues, suede couches, and green plants.

Just down the hall, it’s down to business in our conference rooms, named for popular playlists like RapCaviar, Deep Focus, and Rock This. The Guilty Pleasures room was created by Swedish designer Bea Szenfeld, known for her incredible experiments with paper and other atypical mediums.

Reception Area

Bigger presentations and workshops are held in the spacious yet intimate theater room. Incorporating organic elements like textured wood walls, it’s a great place to gather a lot of Spotifiers together in a more relaxed setting. The room also plays host to entertainment events like listening parties for artists and late night movie sessions.

Spotify Theatre

In the bold and bright cafeteria, Spotifiers eat lunch together, attend informal meetings, and take the occasional fika against a rich palette of teal and purple. When the weather is warm, they can head outside—our office rooftop offers sweeping views of Stockholm landmarks like the Royal Castle, Rosenbad (House of Parliament), Rådhuset (City Hall), Slussen, Gröna Lund (amusement park), the green trees of Djurgården, and the Lilla Värtan strait that floats through the city.

Spotify Cafe

Spotify rooftop, decorated for Pride Month (August)

Craft lovers can spark creative inspiration in the craft room, which is well stocked with supplies for needlework and other projects. Unsurprisingly, it’s also popular with kids who visit the office. Or, for those craving some good natured competition between friends, there’s ping-pong, shuffleboard, and board games.

Fika Isn’t Just a Phenomenon, It’s Our Daily Pause

November 12, 2018

It’s a noun (“Would you like to take a fika?”), a verb (“We’re fika-ing this afternoon”), an everyday ritual, and a state of mind. Fika is the Swedish concept of taking a pause in the day to drink a cup of coffee, sometimes together with a small sweet treat, and connect with each other—in person (no Slack, texts, or DMs).

“It’s not about having a coffee or a cookie, but more about informally meeting other people to get to know them and build trust,” says Johanna, an engineering manager in our Stockholm office. True to our Swedish roots, many of us at Spotify try to make time for fika—whether in the morning (around 9 a.m.) or in the afternoon (around 3 p.m.), not only in Stockholm but at our offices globally. It’s certainly not mandatory, but many participate—call it the lure of the cinnamon bun.

Fika is “definitely a social thing,” Johanna says. “Chatting with colleagues builds trust, but it’s also a way to actually meet and talk about common work problems, which might not happen in your normal day-to-day routines.”

Spotify employees in Stockholm enjoy a fika

Malin, who works in Spotify operations in Stockholm, notes a benefit of this “moment of relaxation,” as she calls it. While “it is not supposed to be productive—rather the opposite,” Malin says, “taking a break from work in the afternoon or having a coffee helps me be more focused.” While work chat is fair game, fika is the time for conversation about what’s happening beyond your desk.

There’s actually science behind the benefits of this sit-down. Studies have shown that, caffeine boost aside, taking fika-esque breaks throughout the day improves productivity and boosts creativity. And while “there are no rules when it comes to fika,” Malin says, she believes that it’s best done with technology set aside.

It’s also a great connector. “Growing up in ‘small town’ Sweden, we would have fika almost every day. It was a great way for friends to come together and hang out for a moment,” says Rasmus, a designer at Spotify. Now based in New York, he finds a global community in fika: “It’s a fun thing to do with my Swedish friends here, and most likely people from other nationalities will join as well.”

There’s no right or wrong way to fika. Phones off (even for just a few minutes), conversation on—and let the coffee do the rest.

Need some music to get you in a fika mood? Try Your Favorite Coffeehouse playlist.

Mallory Thomson on Connecting Spotifiers Through Px—DJs, Spin Bikes, and Grand Pianos Included

October 25, 2018

On a busy Thursday afternoon at our New York office, we found Mallory Thomson, Spotify’s Px (People Experience) Lead, preparing for “Classy AF.” The playfully titled classical music event offers classically trained Spotifiers a chance to share their music skills with coworkers.

“If you had come tomorrow, you would’ve seen a baby grand piano being delivered in the lobby,” she joked. But while events are an important aspect of Mallory’s job, there’s a lot more to Px than planning parties.

Px is about the people who work here. It’s important for our employees to be happy, to express themselves, and to engage in their passions. It’s part of us all being able to bring our whole selves to work.

Mallory Thomson

Mallory connects with fellow employees

Each morning, Mallory connects with the rest of the Px team—six members total in New York, Stockholm, and London—to discuss upcoming projects and to-dos. “It’s a great opportunity to catch up with the rest of the team to make sure we are aligned with our initiatives. I like the creative aspect of brainstorming together and coming up with new ideas.”

Throughout the day, she collaborates with various other teams across Spotify, including Live Events, D&I (Diversity & Inclusion), and GWS (Global Workplace Services). Together, they plan new events and initiatives, and ensure that all Spotifiers feel welcome. “We use that lens in everything we do. We ask ourselves, ‘Is this inclusive?’ Making sure that everyone can participate is super important.”

Whether Mallory is planning a social event, a conference, or a fitness activity, her mission is to help employees take advantage of not just work, but life, within Spotify. “A lot of our events include ‘plus ones,’ which is part of our initiative called Spotify Plus,” she described. “We want Spotifiers to feel happy and comfortable at work. Our Spotify Plus initiatives are a great way for people to introduce some of their biggest supporters at home to their friends at work. Of course, it’s also a way for everyone to have fun!”

A lot of big gatherings take place in New York’s open MSG room. “We recently had a drag showcase,” she recalled. “We had a catwalk in here, and a DJ from our DJ club performed. It was awesome—not toned down at all!”

Mallory feels the beat

The Px team is responsible for planning Spotify’s mega-size summer and holiday parties—like last year’s summer block party which included performances from T-Pain, Charles Bradley, and Flint Eastwood—as well as smaller events and programs, like Rock Band Bootcamp.

“We have a very robust musician community within Spotify,” Mallory explained. “Rock Band Bootcamp offers music lessons in guitar, vocals, and piano. And our DJ club often hosts the pop-up event ‘Decks on Decks.’ It’s very low key… it’s every other Friday in summer, so it’s great for anyone who just wants to chill on the roof. It’s great for the DJs because they gain experience performing in front of people.”

But these events are just part of the Px equation. “Fitness and health is also an area of particular focus, inside and outside the office,” Mallory said. “We know that physical activity is important for the mind, heart, and overall wellbeing. But perhaps more importantly, coming together with your colleagues while exercising is fun. We recently did a spin class in New York City. It was so cool to look around at all the other bikes mid-class and see all Spotify faces!”

“It really brings you back to what it’s all about, which is the people.”

The most rewarding part of Mallory’s job is when she sees Spotifiers making real, personal connections through her work. “Our team plans an annual trip to Kiruna in the North of Sweden, where you can see the northern lights,” she said. “It’s unique to our Swedish roots, and something we’ll do forever. You’re in a camp in the middle of nowhere, dog sledding and ice fishing with people from the U.S., U.K., South America, Australia, Japan… so you form relationships you wouldn’t otherwise make just hanging out at work. It’s magical.”

These “a-ha moments” are what keep Mallory motivated and excited to come to work each day. “It’s hard not to feel a sense of pride when something’s come together so well after you’ve focused on all the tiny details, and you see everyone having so much fun. It really brings you back to what it’s all about, which is the people.”