Tag: XREY

5 Questions (and Answers) with Federica Tremolada, Managing Director, Spotify Southern and Eastern Europe

April 26, 2021

Federica Tremolada joined Spotify exactly two years ago as Managing Director for Southern & Eastern Europe. This diverse region is made up of 26 countries, including big established markets like Italy, Spain, Turkey, and Poland, as well as a number of fast-growing newer markets, like Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, and the Balkans. From the start, Federica knew there wouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach for her markets. 

At Spotify, Federica has combined her passion for audio (she’s been a musician since a young age) with her experience in international media and technology. Her background in negotiating and managing complex international media partnerships led her to have a deep understanding of different business models at Spotify and how to fit them into the puzzle that is Southern and Eastern Europe. 

Recently, Federica was honored on Billboard’s 2021 International Power Players list. For the Record took the opportunity to check in with Federica to hear about what she’s been up to—and what she looks forward to down the road.

What’s Spotify’s ultimate vision and goal in Southern and Eastern Europe (SEE)?

Our mission at Spotify is to unlock the potential of human creativity—by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it. The translation of our mission into the 26 markets of the Southern and Eastern European region is to enable this unique connection between artists and fans at a local level by providing the most relevant content, a highly sophisticated personalized experience, and the best product fit to local artists, users, and advertisers. 

If I think about some of the most recent campaigns we’ve launched, they had an enormous impact both locally and globally. As an example, our Sanremo 2021 campaign was a huge success! During the five days of the popular Italian musical festival, the official playlist was the third-most-listened-to playlist globally, just behind Today’s Top Hits and RapCaviar. 

What are some of your greatest achievements at Spotify to date?

One of the biggest achievements came from better understanding the diversity and priorities of all my 26 markets with high growth potential, both in terms of new monthly active users and subscribers. Being more local means providing an adequate type of support to creators and being culturally relevant for all our users regardless where they come from. This translated into multiple initiatives we launched in the region: the localization of Spotify for Artists in most of the relevant languages, the launch of an Original & Exclusive strategy for podcasts starting from our top markets that brought an Emmy-like award in Spain (Premios Ondas) for XRey, a bigger and better approach to our local marketing campaigns, artists’ promotion at a larger scale (like Sfera Ebbasta, C Tangana, ROSALÍA, or Taco Hemingway), and last but not the least, the creation of a team that could facilitate and accelerate this type of support. 

What do you view as the key headwinds that you and the region face?

The real challenge is managing complexity at a large scale. We need to make sure we stay competitive in our most mature markets by acquiring new audiences, refreshing our original and exclusive content slate at a stable pace, owning local music genres as much as we do for global trends (for example, Flamenco Flow in Spain or Disco Polo in Poland), and personalizing the Premium experience in every country. 

At the same time, it’s important not to lose sight of everything happening in countries at an early stage of growth or those still on a fast growth trajectory by fueling that growth with the right amount of resources and investments. We’ve never invested so much in local initiatives in SEE as we’re doing in 2021.

Within your market, what would you say are the most exciting or interesting trends that you’re seeing?

Podcasts are definitely one of the most interesting trends that also had a huge acceleration during the pandemic. Italy and Spain were among the two markets that quarantined first in early March 2020, and during those first few weeks podcast listening went up in those markets. This format is particularly loved by millennials and Gen Z users who identify podcasts as a more humanizing technology and also a better way to fuel self-discovery. In order to provide high-quality content around these topics, we launched three new shows in Spain (X-Rey, AM, and El Rey del Cachopo), plus three originals (Tutto Sanremo ma dura meno, L’Educazione Responsabile, and Complottisti Domestici), and one exclusive format (Demoni Urbani) in Italy in the last few months.

If we took a look at your recently played list, what would we find right now?

I love true crime in general for podcasts, so both Demoni Urbani and the recently launched El Rey del Cachopo are among my favourite titles, along with some of the shows we launched globally, like Renegades: Born in the USA or Dare to Lead with Brené Brown. From a music perspective, I love discovering new hits that I can add to my library, so Release Radar and New Music Friday are my favorite playlists during my spare time.

Stream one of Federica’s favorite Spanish podcasts, El Rey del Cachopo.

Explore the Mysterious Life of a Former King in Spotify’s New Podcast, ‘XREY’

May 20, 2020

In June 2014, King Juan Carlos de Borbón I of Spain suddenly abdicated the throne after 50 years of rule, creating mystery and intrigue for his country and the world. Though we may never truly know what went on behind closed doors, a new Spanish-language podcast, XREY—the first exclusive podcast to come out of Spotify in Spain—promises to shed light on the story.

The 10-episode show features more than 40 interview subjects who help us get to know the bewildering King. The podcast was written and directed by investigative journalist Álvaro de Cózar and produced by Toni Garrido, who has a history in both radio and TV. This isn’t the first time the pair have worked together. They also created a podcast called V., las cloacas del estado (“V., the sewers of the state”), which looks at Spanish history through the eyes of an undercover agent.

We chatted with the cocreators about their latest podcast to learn more about unraveling the mystery that followed King Juan Carlos I.

Why should listeners who aren’t familiar with the Spanish monarchy check out XREY?

Álvaro de Cózar: I think it will give listeners an overview, a sort of bigger picture, of a well-known character in history. People were conflicted on how they felt about Juan Carlos. That’s why we’re doing an “x-ray” of him. I think that, by asking ourselves who King Juan Carlos is, we are able to answer quite a few things about who we are and who we have been in this country.

What about King Juan Carlos’s story made you want to create this podcast?

Álvaro: The King interested me from the moment he abdicated—it was shrouded in so much mystery that I became curious. But, I never really considered carrying out any sort of project until I talked to Toni about it. What we’ve tried to do is answer a very basic question: Who is Juan Carlos I?

Toni Garrido: By telling his story, we are telling the story of Spain. His contradictions, his dilemmas, his weaknesses, his strengths, his past—how is it possible that we don’t really know much about this man who reigned for so long? 

Why do you think a podcast was the best medium through which to tell this story? 

Toni: For us, the podcast is a genre in itself; it is a concrete way of telling a story. Thanks to the sound, we can travel, recreate, and deepen our understanding. When someone presses “start” for a podcast, it shows curiosity, interest, and desire to learn a new world.

How does music play a role in XREY?

Toni: Music was essential. Ale Acosta, one of the best producers in the country, helped us convey the story’s atmosphere while enhancing these extraordinary moments in history. And I recommend you listen carefully to the main tune; it hides a big secret. And the closing song from Javier Limón—it’s a great song that is sure to be a success. In addition to the music, Yago Mendivil did some exceptional sound design.

You spoke to dozens of people during your investigation—who were you most excited to interview?

Álvaro: I would say Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba. He was a man who knew both his country and Spanish politics. While he’s been accused of many things, I sincerely believe that he was someone who built bridges and was in permanent contact with his adversary. He played an essential role in King Juan Carlos’s abdication. It was a blow when we learned that he had died so suddenly [in May 2019]. Rubalcaba appears in episode 2 of XREY, and we decided to publish the full interview because it is the last one he gave to a media outlet. It’s a very interesting testimony to complete the podcast.

Has your perception of King Juan Carlos changed during the process of creating the podcast?

Álvaro: I previously only considered him linked to key historical events: the struggle for power, the arrival of democracy, the “23-F” coup attempt of February 23, 1981—and then the sailing boats, the photos, the smiles. What I discovered after the podcast is that he is a much more complex character from a psychological point of view, which makes for very interesting—and sometimes very contradictory—baggage. He’s a character who had everything and then destroyed it in only a few years. That self-destruction could be due to clumsiness or impunity, but I believed that there was something else. 

Intrigued? Catch up on your Spanish history and learn the secrets of King Juan Carlos de Borbón I in the podcast below.