Spotify to embrace a dual CEO structure from January

• Moving forward, Spotify’s top deck will feature co-CEOs Soderstrom and Norstrom.

Spotify is shaking things up at the top in 2025. Daniel Ek, the Swedish billionaire who co-founded the legendary streaming platform, will hand over his CEO reins in January and transition to executive chairman.

The big move comes as Spotify embraces a dual CEO structure—a shift aimed at sharpening its competitive edge and driving profitability amid intensifying global rivalry.

Ek, who helped transform Spotify from a Stockholm startup into an international powerhouse, announced he’ll step back from daily operations. Instead, he’ll focus on capital allocation and long-term strategy, taking on a European-style chairman role.

“Think of it as moving from a player to a coach,” Ek described, signaling his wish to stay involved in a hands-on but high-level way.

Spotify’s lead in the music streaming world is impressive, boasting nearly 700 million monthly users and an enormous library spanning more than 100 million tracks.

Its subscriber count eclipses Apple Music’s roughly 90 million, keeping competitors like YouTube Music and Amazon Music playing catch-up—though YouTube’s video integration and Amazon’s Prime perks continue to shape regional battles.

Despite its commanding market position, the company has faced persistent profit-margin pressures. Artists are pushing for higher payouts, and the growth of Spotify’s ad-supported tier, while boosting user numbers, has challenged bottom-line growth.

Innovative approach

In 2024, global revenue from recorded music grew 4.8 per cent to $29.6 billion, with streaming crossing the $20 billion threshold for the first time. More than half of that came from paid subscriptions, cementing streaming’s dominance, per IFPI’s Global Music Report.

Spotify had a hard-won victory in the black last year, posting its first annual profit thanks to a cocktail of price hikes and cost-cutting. This financial turnaround marks a milestone for a company that, since its 2006 founding, has battled tech giants, piracy, and a declining industry.

Today, Spotify is both a pioneer and an icon for Europe’s tech scene, often cited as proof positive that the region can produce scale-up giants to rival Silicon Valley and Asia.

Moving forward, Spotify’s top deck will feature co-CEOs Soderstrom and Norstrom—a team with over 15 years’ joint experience at the company and complementary skill sets.

Soderstrom, the tech and product guru, will chart Spotify’s digital future, while Norstrom heads up business growth, subscriber engagement, and content operations across music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Both will directly report to Ek, preserving tight alignment with Spotify’s visionary leader.

The co-CEO structure isn’t entirely uncharted territory among major tech firms. Oracle and Netflix, for instance, have successfully used two-headed leadership to navigate expansion and complexity.

Still, sceptics argue that dual CEOs risk blurring the lines of command. Only time will tell whether this innovative approach turns out to be the secret sauce for sustained growth and resilience in the face of fierce competition and relentless industry evolution.