Spotify Leadership Announcement: What’s Not Said

Spotify announced CEO changes without giving reasons. Students can see how the company spins the news.

Founder and CEO Daniel Ek will transition to the Board Chair position, and the two current co-presidents will become co-CEOs. The change comes at a critical time for music streaming services and, particularly, for Spotify. Technology Magazines cites potential reasons for the leadership change not mentioned in the company’s press release.

As we expect from these announcements, Spotify’s statement spins the message:

• Highlights that the co-presidents have worked successfully, addressing the oddity of a tech company having co-CEOs.

• Mentions how Ek’s “role will more closely reflect a European Chairman setup,” countering reactions to his being placed as a “ceremonial chairman,” common in American governance structures.

• Mentions succession plans in the works for “several years,” denying current controversies as the reason.

The statement doesn’t mention that several artists have boycotted Spotify, pulling their music because of low royalty payments, licensing failures, and AI-generated songs. In addition, Ek has been criticized for his investment in a German military company. All this weakens its position against Apple Music.

Of course, Spotify doesn’t mention any of that. But we might expect the statement to say more about plans going forward. The statement ends on this new-CEO quote:

While we bring different experiences and perspectives to the CEO role, we both have a strong bias to action and can’t wait to get started knowing that we will have Daniel’s full partnership and ongoing support.

Overall, the message feels defensive, staving off additional criticism rather than facing the future from a position of strength.