Spotify’s top content executive is leaving, just ahead of the streaming music company’s planned public offering.
Spotify’s chief content officer is leaving ahead of its IPO
Stefan Blom’s departure may raise questions.
John Sciulli/Getty Images for Spotify
Peter Kafka covered media and technology, and their intersection, at Vox. Many of his stories can be found in his Kafka on Media newsletter, and he also hosts the Recode Media podcast.
Stefan Blom, Spotify’s chief content officer, announced his departure via an internal memo today. The company hasn’t named a successor to Blom, who reported to CEO Daniel Ek.
Blom’s departure comes after Spotify has filed confidential plans to go public via a unique “direct” IPO; the company has been targeting a spring date for the listing.
The timing of Blom’s exit may raise questions for investors as they look at Spotify.
Last year, the executive helped Spotify secure critical licenses with the big music labels that paved the way for the company’s IPO. But he has also been in charge of the company’s attempted push into video, which has stopped and started a few times without gaining traction.
“We are grateful for Stefan’s many contributions to the company over the years and we wish him the very best,” a Spotify rep says. “Looking ahead, the content team is well positioned to execute on our strategy.”
Yesterday, Spotify announced it has 70 million paying subscribers.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
