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Spotify announced that founder Daniel Ek will step down from the chief executive role after two decades, with his two deputies slated to assume the position at the end of the year. Ek, 42, will continue as executive chairman, responsible for long-term strategy — a formal recognition of the management division introduced in 2023 when he delegated much of daily operations.
In a letter to staff, Mr Ek said he would remain "deeply involved" in big decisions involving the firm, one of Europe's most successful technology businesses, boasting more than 700 million monthly users globally.
When it was founded in Sweden in 2006, Spotify said it aimed to address widespread piracy issues that were plaguing the music industry, using advertising and money from subscriptions to pay rights holders for music popular on the platform.
Its grip on listeners has grown as it expanded into podcasts and audio books, though the firm's dominance has prompted frequent clashes with musicians, who have criticised its payment practices.
The company's rise has also turned Mr Ek into a billionaire, with a fortune of about $10bn. He has ploughed some of those riches into a European venture capital firm, which has backed firms such as Germany's Helsing, which develops weapons systems powered by artificial intelligence. This investment in Helsing, which Ek also leads as executive chairman, prompted some artists, including Deerhoof and Massive Attack, to launch a boycott of Spotify earlier this year.
Announcing its decision last month, Massive Attack said Spotify had long placed an "economic burden" on artists, which was "now compounded by a moral and ethical burden, whereby the hard-earned money of fans and the creative endeavours of musicians ultimately funds lethal, dystopian technologies".
"Enough is more than enough," the band said.
Spotify said the decision by Mr Ek to stand down had been in the works before the recent controversy and was not related.
The move will elevate co-presidents Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström, who have each been with the company for more than 15 years and had taken on enhanced responsibilities two years ago.
