Hello — Welcome to the latest Spotify Newsletter! Thanks for reading!

The week kicked off on a big bummer note with news that Spotify is cutting 6% of its workforce. The tech industry is riding choppy seas right now and Spotify is not immune to the 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.

So everything is a bit off-kilter, for sure.

According a report via Bloomberg, CEO Daniel Ek told staff in an all-hands meeting the company’s podcast strategy wouldn’t change.

One person familiar with internal conversations says the team now focuses less on scale—lots of original and licensed shows—in favor of courting creators and building up a more select group of impactful hits.

To oversee content and carry out this mission, the company has installed Alex Norström, chief freemium business officer, as a co-president.

The Stream On event is right around the corner (3/8), so we’ll see if any further big picture news is added to the unveiling of new creator tools, features and programming. There’s also the fourth-quarter earnings call next week.

— To make the week even more of a bummer, there was a big outage that took place on Thursday. Things were down and out for a few hours but the Spotify Fix-It team plugged in all the right cords and the platform was back in action.

Still …. What a week in Spotify World.

— Look at the fun artwork above. I made it with Canva. Exciting, I know. But if you, or someone artsy you know, want to feature Spotify-inspired artwork for the newsletter that would be great.

★In the SPOTlight★

⭐️ In defence of Spotify

Streaming is keeping recorded music alive

⭐️ Spotify to trim 6% of workforce, content head to depart

Spotify plans to cut 6% of its workforce, or roughly 600 jobs, adding to a glut of layoffs in the technology sector as companies prepare for a possible recession. The company also said its chief content and advertising business officer, Dawn Ostroff, will depart as part of a broader reorganization.

⭐️ Spotify is testing a new predictive search user interface on mobile

Point of moderate interest. Spotify is testing a new predictive search UI on mobile premium accounts.

⭐️ Spotify could soon match Amazon Music Unlimited's untimely price hike

Spotify is now something of an outlier among its closest streaming rivals, but there are good reasons to believe that won't remain the case for long.

🗣 Podcast Action 🗣

Spotify Reshuffles Podcast Organization Following Layoffs

Spotify Went Hard for Podcasts — But Layoffs (and a Big Departure) Signal a Change

The Creative Process Behind Jordan Peele’s Hit Spotify Audio Series ‘Quiet Part Loud’

🎉 Party Time 🎉

A Look Inside Spotify’s Best New Artist Party—One Of The ‘Hottest Tickets’ Of Grammy Week

🎧 The Playlist List 🎧

What is an average skip rate on Spotify?

Miley Cyrus‘ ’Flowers‘ Just Broke Spotify’s One-Week Streaming Record

The Euphoria of Stumbling Upon Weird Spotify Cover Songs

💡 Tips & Tricks 💡

How to Translate the Lyrics of Your Favorite Song on Spotify

How to Play Spotify on Your HomePod

How to Fix Spotify Error Code 18 in Windows 10 & 11

🖌 Design Notes 🖌

Can I get an Encore? Spotify’s Design System, Three Years On

💰 Spotify Stock 💰

Down 66% in 2022, Is Spotify Stock a Buy for 2023?

🔥 Extra News 🔥

Spotify wipes vacancies from global jobs board as hiring freeze hits after 500+ layoffs

Gaming and Hip-Hop Go Head-to-Head at a Spotify Event in France

A poem about Spotify CEO Daniel EK written by ChatGPT

Spotify speaks out about ‘important’ CNM fake-streams study

How much Spotify is paying per stream in 2023

More Persona Soundtracks Have Been Added To Spotify And Apple Music

Spotify study explains why BTS' 'Dynamite' is one of the most popular songs to fall asleep to

PureCar announced the official launch of streaming audio advertising services through Spotify

🎵 New Adventures 🎵

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman Aretha Franklin

Tell Me All the Things You Do Fleetwood Mac

I Can't Give Everything Away Spoon

Fear Of Falling The Gregg Allman Band

My Idea Evan Dando

It Was so Easy Carly Simon

Pitch or Honey Neko Case

Draw The Line Aerosmith

📧 Get in touch 📧

If you have a question, idea, request, or simply a desire to chat about Spotify, please email me at jeff.spotifynewsletter@gmail.com.

😀 Have a Nice Weekend! 😀