![]() ![]() Though Spotify remains cash-flow positive, the company has spent more than $1 billion on its podcast expansion alone since 2019, making expensive tech and studio acquisitions and striking flashy talent deals for sums previously unheard of in podcasting for such talent as Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Dax Shepard. The latest pivot at Spotify is partly a recession-era sign of the times and partly growing pains for a company that has made massive expansions in recent years but has yet to become profitable. On Jan. 24, the day after revealing the layoffs, CEO Daniel Ek led a companywide video call that Spotify staff call “Unplugged” to take questions Ek attributed the layoffs to Spotify’s ballooning operational expenses and the need to, in corporate speak, seek efficiencies. Internally, senior leadership posted notes on Workplace - a Facebook-like business platform run by Meta - and sent mass emails to their respective teams to discuss the cuts, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Greenlit series were expected to move forward, and business would keep up “as usual” despite the layoffs, multiple people familiar with the conversations tell The Hollywood Reporter. Outside partners concerned about Ostroff’s departure were told that her top lieutenants, Julie McNamara and Max Cutler, would remain in place and continue overseeing original programming and talent partnerships, respectively. Per securities filings, Ostroff also had the highest salary of Spotify’s C-suite, bringing in $1 million in base salary for a total of $8.8 million in pay during 2021. (Ostroff declined to comment.) ![]() 1 pre-Grammys party for women in entertainment. Ostroff’s departure was a surprise to some observers, given that the executive was one of Spotify’s most public-facing leaders, spearheading key presentations to investors, participating in media interviews to talk up Spotify’s podcasting expansion and hosting Hollywood-focused events - including a Feb. Universal Music Group CEO Welcomes Spotify Raising Subscription Prices ![]()
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