Originally published in Svenska Dagbladet by Björn Jeffery, September 30, 2025

Spotify stands stronger than ever as Daniel Ek steps down as CEO at the start of next year. After 20 years on the throne, the king of Swedish tech is stepping aside. And the outlines of what lies ahead are already visible.

It is a journey without parallel within Swedish tech. And one that stands strong within Swedish entrepreneurship overall.

Spotify has transformed an entire industry and dragged it — often very reluctantly — into the future. In doing so, it has created a stock market success in the United States with a rise of close to 400 percent since the listing in 2018.

When Ek now leaves behind a full year of profitability, the results speak for themselves. It is possible to make money from streaming.

So what are the next steps for both Daniel Ek and Spotify? Those who have followed the company for some time have already seen a preview of how things might unfold.

American title conventions in professional life are something of a mystery to those not accustomed to them. While in Sweden people often make do with being called “chef” — manager — the American titles are considerably longer and more complicated.

Alex Norström — one of the two who will take over as CEO of Spotify — is today “Chief Business Officer” and “Co-President.” His partner Gustav Söderström is “Chief Product & Technology Officer” and “Co-President” as well.

If you could decipher the titles, this leadership change has been in the making for some time. Being chief business officer or chief product and technology officer is not unusual. But being “co-president” means essentially one thing: you are next in line when the top executive steps down. Logically, this succession has been planned since Norström and Söderström were promoted in January 2023.

During those three years, much has happened at Spotify. The share price had been at its lowest point and the company was still losing money. Many wondered whether streaming was simply a boom-era phenomenon after all — inflated by high expectations and billions in venture capital.

It was not. Even if many artists and record labels have had views on how the music economy has developed since streaming became the standard, consumers have voted unanimously.

Today Spotify has over a quarter of a billion subscribers and more than twice as many listeners in total. It is an outstanding — and very rare — global success. And to cement the question of whether Spotify could become a “real” company — one that actually makes money — Ek is leaving with full-year profitability as his final feather in the cap. One can imagine it was particularly satisfying for him to be able to show that to all the naysayers he has encountered along the way.

Spotify as a company today is broader than just music. It is investing in podcasts, audiobooks, and new video formats. It is becoming more and more a media destination with a clear place in everyday life. Competitors like Apple — despite almost infinite financial resources — have not managed to dislodge them from that position.

The challenge for the company is therefore to maintain and develop the strong position it already has. Can they broaden the offering further to make the service so self-evident that it feels impossible to cancel? Can they justify higher prices in markets that are developing rapidly?

There is much to work on, but a revolution is unlikely to be on the agenda. The revolution has already been carried out — and it is the fruits of that revolution that Spotify is now harvesting.

For Ek himself, he can take a step back and devote himself to other things. In practice, Norström and Söderström have already managed most of the day-to-day operations anyway, but now they also get the titles that match the responsibilities. As chairman of the board, Ek retains his association with the company, but his immediate activities will no longer be as closely tied to it.

A little distance may be preferable. Through his investment company Prima Materia, Ek has invested in, among other things, the defence company Helsing. Individual artists such as Massive Attack have protested against this by removing their music from the service. Spotify can manage without a trip-hop band from the late 1990s. But it is an unnecessary distraction for everyone involved. Ek can now devote himself to private investment in new companies without it having to spill over onto the music service.

Daniel Ek is handing over an extraordinary piece of company building to the heirs apparent Norström and Söderström, who now both become “co-CEO.” They are taking over a company that is by far Swedish tech’s most brightly shining star. By market capitalisation, they are around ten times the size of the next Swedish tech company after them.

With such an achievement behind him — and 20 years of work — it is hard to imagine what more one could feel one needed to do to be satisfied. And when you reach that point, stepping down as CEO is the right call.

Daniel Ek is already written into the history books.