[ad_1]
Spotify CFO Paul Vogel said the company’s decision a few weeks ago to begin restructuring, which included furloughing 6% of its global workforce, prompted him to take a serious look at the business, saying: He said it was “really positive” in that it was willing to “evolve.”
Today, the company is a “more efficient business,” said the executive during a virtual appearance at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference. “The reporting lines are more streamlined and accountable. We have the ability to get things done with fewer people. And when it comes to a business as big as ours, sometimes we have to make changes.”
When Vogel joined the company seven years ago, it had about 1,500 employees, compared to about 10,000 today. The layoffs announced in January follow a 26% year-over-year increase in headcount in 2022 compared to 2021, including the hiring of about 1,000 engineers.
“We will be bigger and more efficient,” says Vogel. “We’re going to get more done. We’ll be able to do it without having to add the same level of incremental resources as before.”
Before a question-and-answer session with Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne, Vogel opened the session by summarizing highlights from the company’s annual Stream On event on Wednesday. Among the revelations to come was the company reaching 500 million monthly active users sooner than recent internal projections and approaching $40 billion in payments to music labels and artists. In addition to a series of programming announcements, Spotify also announced a major redesign of its app, with the main goal of making it easier for listeners to sample and discover music and podcasts.
The company has executed a flurry of M&A and talent deals in the podcast sector in recent years, acquiring The Ringer, Gimlet Media and other producers, and setting up expensive deals with Joe Rogan and other personalities. has proven to be a financial burden, but Vogel said the company continues to believe the investment will pay dividends and meet profit targets. “We are still very optimistic about this business and where it will go over time,” he said. “Four years ago we were nowhere in podcasting. Now we are the world leaders.”
Rapidly expanding Spotify is now focused on innovation aimed at helping creators unlock more advertising potential and offer users a more engaging listening experience, executives added. . Autoplay is one example. It’s a music staple on Spotify and will soon be replicated on the podcast side.
As for the tough macroeconomic environment, inflation and foreign currency volatility have hit earnings, but Vogel said there has been no update for investors since the company’s earnings report and investor day several weeks ago. Stated. “It was choppy from Q4 and still choppy going into Q1,” he said.
Swinburne asked about Spotify’s competitive position — big tech companies, especially Apple, which stacks music and podcasting on top of TV, video games, cloud storage, and a variety of other services. . “This is what we are all about,” said Vogel. “I think what sets us apart is streaming audio and our sole focus on giving our users the best experience possible. , it means we have more engaged users.The average user spends twice as much on Spotify than on another streaming platform.What we are seeing is that our platform and innovation are more It’s about making good products.”
[ad_2]
Source link
