Spotify cofounder and billionaire Daniel Ek is stepping down as CEO after nearly two decades at the helm of the $150 billion streaming giant.
The move, effective January 1, 2026, will see Ek transition to executive chairman, while Spotify’s current co-presidents, Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström, take the reins as co-CEOs.
“I’ve spent twenty years, nearly my entire adult life, as Spotify’s CEO,” Ek said. “I’m ready to go from a player to a coach.”
Spotify has been preparing for this transition for years. In 2023, Norström and Söderström were promoted to co-presidents to gain leadership experience. Ek explained, “I feel now is the time, and I don’t want to hold them back. They are more than capable and more than ready to take it on.”
Norström, who has managed Spotify’s business, marketing, and content strategy, and Söderström, who oversees the technology and product side, each bring over a decade of experience at the company and backgrounds in startups. Spotify board member Woody Marshall expressed confidence in the move: “We have had some time watching them practice at full speed, and they are ready for the game.”
As executive chairman, Ek will focus on Spotify’s long-term strategy and key investments, leaving the day-to-day operations to the new co-CEOs. “They are going to run the company. They are the CEOs, and they will make the decisions,” Ek said.
Ek leaves Spotify on a high note. The company’s shares have doubled over the past year, reaching an all-time high and bringing the market capitalization above $150 billion. Spotify now serves nearly 700 million active users, including 276 million paid subscribers, offering over 100 million tracks. In 2024, the company generated $18.36 billion in revenue, paying out $10 billion to musicians and rights holders.
The incoming co-CEOs are focused on further growth, particularly in emerging tech markets across Africa and Asia. “We have now hit 3% of the world’s population subscribing to Spotify,” Norström said. “It is not so unimaginable to think that we could have 10% or 15% of the world’s population subscribing.” Söderström sees AI as a major factor shaping the future of music consumption, comparing its potential impact to the smartphone revolution.
Ek’s decision to step back comes as he increasingly pursues ventures outside the music industry. In 2021, he launched a $1 billion investment holding company, Prima Materia, aimed at high-risk, high-reward tech projects in Europe. Among Ek’s bets is Neko, a health screening startup launched in 2018, which recently raised $260 million in a Series B round and reached a $1.8 billion valuation. He also chairs Helsing, a German defense technology company developing AI-powered drones and submarines, where Prima Materia led a €600 million investment round earlier this year.
Ek’s path to founding Spotify is as unconventional as his career trajectory. A college dropout from Stockholm, he first made his fortune at ad tech firm Tradedoubler before retreating from the fast-living lifestyle to a remote cabin. There, he and fellow entrepreneur Martin Lorentzon conceived Spotify as a solution to the music industry’s struggles with piracy and declining CD sales.
Since its founding in 2006, Spotify has transformed the music industry, helping push global recording sales toward $30 billion, with streaming accounting for $20 billion. The company expanded beyond music into podcasts, news, and audiobooks, acquiring Gimlet Media, Parcast, and The Ringer, while securing deals with major podcast talent including Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper.
“Solving problems is my life’s hobby,” Ek said. “And the good news or bad news, whichever way you want to put it, is there are plenty of problems around the world to focus on.”
With Norström and Söderström taking over, Ek appears confident that Spotify will continue its trajectory under fresh leadership while he pursues ventures that tackle the world’s toughest challenges.
