The content would be provided directly from record labels and media companies, and thus would be digital rights management (DRM) protected. Specifically, his idea was to create a version of iTunes that streamed music. So he thought about starting a business that would use technology to address this issue. Ek was concerned about the amount of music piracy in his native Sweden. He had even joined a band, though it never saw success. Growing up, he had two passions – music and technology. Historyĭaniel Ek was the Chief Technology Officer of Stardoll, a provider of online games, and an entrepreneur. Spotify also announced on Wednesday that it had passed 500 million active users a month.Spotify’s mission is to give people access to all the music they want all the time - in a completely legal and accesible way. In February, Spotify beta-launched DJ, an AI-driven music guide made available to premium users in the US and Canada. Some of the new features are already live on the Spotify app, the company said, while others will roll out in the coming months.

'The most important thing we, at Spotify, can do for creators is to reduce the distance between their art and the people who love it - or who would love it as soon as they discovered it,' Spotify co-president Gustav Söderström said in a release. In addition, the Enhance tool has been rebranded as 'Smart Shuffle' and will reorder user-generated playlists and suggest related tracks. The Spotify home screen will now offer a stream of previews of music, shows, podcasts, audiobooks and other content that users can save, share or explore, as well as new video feeds for discovery in the Search section. The company announced the makeover on Wednesday at its Stream On event, along with new tools for podcasters and ways for musicians to further interact with their fans.

Spotify founder