Gustav Söderström

And these gifts keep coming almost on a schedule and they actually come gradually. closer and closer. Previously, technology companies were not called technology companies. As a side note, they were called car companies, but it wasn't technology companies or pharmaceutical. That was a state of the art technology right then.

And these gifts keep coming almost on a schedule and they actually come gradually. closer and closer. Previously, technology companies were not called technology companies. As a side note, they were called car companies, but it wasn't technology companies or pharmaceutical. That was a state of the art technology right then.

But because these microwaves came so far apart, they call themselves a car company. They never became ubiquitous technology companies. They overfitted to that. I think somewhere in the 90s, around Google, Amazon, et cetera, these macros started coming so fast that people tried to pin them down. Amazon is a books company, and they were like, no, not really.

But because these microwaves came so far apart, they call themselves a car company. They never became ubiquitous technology companies. They overfitted to that. I think somewhere in the 90s, around Google, Amazon, et cetera, these macros started coming so fast that people tried to pin them down. Amazon is a books company, and they were like, no, not really.

We're doing books, but here's other stuff we're selling. And then, okay, you're the everything store company. It's like, no, not really. Now we're selling Amazon Web Services over here. So I think these companies are the first set of companies to have technology as the strategy. The previous ones took...

We're doing books, but here's other stuff we're selling. And then, okay, you're the everything store company. It's like, no, not really. Now we're selling Amazon Web Services over here. So I think these companies are the first set of companies to have technology as the strategy. The previous ones took...

one wave as the strategy and IBM comes along and does computers as a strategy or first memory and so forth. I think this is the first wave of general technology companies, which interestingly might mean that it could be, I mean, companies almost always die after a while. These could be the first companies that never die because they're ubiquitous technology companies.

one wave as the strategy and IBM comes along and does computers as a strategy or first memory and so forth. I think this is the first wave of general technology companies, which interestingly might mean that it could be, I mean, companies almost always die after a while. These could be the first companies that never die because they're ubiquitous technology companies.

Whatever the technology gift is, just try to have a company that can quickly wrap around it, figure out the product and business model. So I think that's interesting. And that's how I think about Spotify. Yes, we're music company and then a podcast company and then a book company and a video company.

Whatever the technology gift is, just try to have a company that can quickly wrap around it, figure out the product and business model. So I think that's interesting. And that's how I think about Spotify. Yes, we're music company and then a podcast company and then a book company and a video company.

But it's really about trying to anticipate technology, figure out what it can do, and then adapt the product and often the business model. So I said mobile was one of these things where we needed to change the business model. And I think what happens when one of these technology gifts comes along is There is a big change when the technology happens. Piracy, big havoc.

But it's really about trying to anticipate technology, figure out what it can do, and then adapt the product and often the business model. So I said mobile was one of these things where we needed to change the business model. And I think what happens when one of these technology gifts comes along is There is a big change when the technology happens. Piracy, big havoc.

But the real change happens when someone also figures out the business model. So I tell my product teams, technology can do good things and a new business model can really change the world. But without a business model, there's seldom like large scale change. You can destroy a lot of things, but you never really create value.

But the real change happens when someone also figures out the business model. So I tell my product teams, technology can do good things and a new business model can really change the world. But without a business model, there's seldom like large scale change. You can destroy a lot of things, but you never really create value.

So mobile was the first where we need to figure out a free tier on mobile without cannibalizing our paid tier. And what we did there was we looked at our data and saw that 50% of premium users were listening in shuffle mode. So we said, what if we take shuffle as a feature, give that away for free?

So mobile was the first where we need to figure out a free tier on mobile without cannibalizing our paid tier. And what we did there was we looked at our data and saw that 50% of premium users were listening in shuffle mode. So we said, what if we take shuffle as a feature, give that away for free?

It should be 50% of premium consumption, so very valuable, but it's not going to be 100% of anyone's premium consumption, so no cannibalization. And we managed to create a tier where you could playlist all your favorite songs in a playlist, press play, put the phone in your pocket and listen forever for free in the background. So that was a business model innovation, along with technology.

It should be 50% of premium consumption, so very valuable, but it's not going to be 100% of anyone's premium consumption, so no cannibalization. And we managed to create a tier where you could playlist all your favorite songs in a playlist, press play, put the phone in your pocket and listen forever for free in the background. So that was a business model innovation, along with technology.

The most previous one was audiobooks, where there were audiobooks in the US a la carte. And sure, we did some nice innovation around being able to stream that book. But the real thing is not stream a book. You've been able to stream audio for a long time. The real... Innovation, that was the business model to be able to bundle audiobooks into Spotify Premium. It's almost like music.

The most previous one was audiobooks, where there were audiobooks in the US a la carte. And sure, we did some nice innovation around being able to stream that book. But the real thing is not stream a book. You've been able to stream audio for a long time. The real... Innovation, that was the business model to be able to bundle audiobooks into Spotify Premium. It's almost like music.