Spotify reduces staff by 6%, Chief Content Officer Dawn Ostroff to leave

Spotify on Monday said it is cutting 6% of its staff, following a wave of layoffs at other tech and entertainment businesses as they adjust to a challenging economic environment.

As part of the move, the Swedish music streaming giant said that Chief Content Officer and Advertising Business Officer Dawn Ostroff is leaving.

A key architect of Spotify’s podcast strategy, Ostroff joined the company as it made large audio and advertising investments, acquiring production companies and making podcast deals with newsmakers and celebrities.

But the company’s aggressive investments in the podcast space have drawn more scrutiny amid a cooling economy.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said the layoffs were reflective of Spotify’s need to be more efficient.

“We still spend far too much time syncing on slightly different strategies, which slows us down,” Ek wrote in a blog post on Monday. “And in a challenging economic environment, efficiency takes on greater importance. So, in an effort to drive more efficiency, control costs, and speed up decision-making, I have decided to restructure our organization.”

Ostroff joined Spotify in 2018 and oversaw a rapid expansion of the company’s foray into podcasting with shows featuring Kim Kardashian, Barack and Michelle Obama and Prince Harry and Megan Markle. In the transition, Spotify said Ostroff will be a senior advisor.

Assuming responsibility for content, advertising and licensing will be Alex Norström, Spotify’s chief business officer. Ek said he will be centralizing the majority of engineering and product work under Norström and chief product officer Gustav Soderström.

“Like many other leaders, I hoped to sustain the strong tailwinds from the pandemic and believed that our broad global business and lower risk to the impact of a slowdown in ads would insulate us,” Ek wrote. “In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth.”

Spotify on Monday said it is cutting 6% of its staff, following a wave of layoffs at other tech and entertainment businesses as they adjust to a challenging economic environment.

As part of the move, the Swedish music streaming giant said that Chief Content Officer and Advertising Business Officer Dawn Ostroff is leaving.

A key architect of Spotify’s podcast strategy, Ostroff joined the company as it made large audio and advertising investments, acquiring production companies and making podcast deals with newsmakers and celebrities.

But the company’s aggressive investments in the podcast space have drawn more scrutiny amid a cooling economy.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said the layoffs were reflective of Spotify’s need to be more efficient.

“We still spend far too much time syncing on slightly different strategies, which slows us down,” Ek wrote in a blog post on Monday. “And in a challenging economic environment, efficiency takes on greater importance. So, in an effort to drive more efficiency, control costs, and speed up decision-making, I have decided to restructure our organization.”

Ostroff joined Spotify in 2018 and oversaw a rapid expansion of the company’s foray into podcasting with shows featuring Kim Kardashian, Barack and Michelle Obama and Prince Harry and Megan Markle. In the transition, Spotify said Ostroff will be a senior advisor.

Assuming responsibility for content, advertising and licensing will be Alex Norström, Spotify’s chief business officer. Ek said he will be centralizing the majority of engineering and product work under Norström and chief product officer Gustav Soderström.

“Like many other leaders, I hoped to sustain the strong tailwinds from the pandemic and believed that our broad global business and lower risk to the impact of a slowdown in ads would insulate us,” Ek wrote. “In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth.”