Brought to you by Microsoft Clarity—See how people actually use your product | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments | Eco—Your most rewarding app—Gustav Söderström is the Co-President and Chief Product and Technology Officer at Spotify. He is responsible for Spotify’s global product and technology strategy, overseeing the product, design, data, and engineering teams. Prior to Spotify, he founded 13th Lab, a startup that was later acquired by Facebook’s Oculus. He also served as the Director of Product and Business Development for Yahoo Mobile and founded Kenet Works, a company focused on community software for mobile phones, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2006. In today’s episode, we discuss:• How Spotify structures product teams to promote freedom of thought• Lessons on thinking long-term and navigating negative feedback• Why Gustav started a podcast and what he’s learned• How AI has impacted the work PMs, engineers, and designers do within Spotify• AI-generated music and its impact on artists• What’s next for Spotify and Spotify Podcasting—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-scaling-spotify-the—Where to find Gustav Söderström:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GustavS• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustavsoderstrom/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Gustav’s background(04:08) The various roles Gustav has occupied at Spotify(06:54) Why Gustav launched a podcast and what he learned(12:37) How PMs and product teams should think about AI(21:23) AI-generated music(26:19) Will AI continue to be a magic trick for products?(28:27) How Spotify organizes product teams(34:33) How Spotify operationalized autonomy(35:45) Why Spotify uses a centralized model for structuring their organization(43:34) The big bet Spotify took with redesigning its interface, and what they learned(57:26) How they tested their hypothesis before launch(1:02:35) Gustav’s “10% planning time” methodology (1:03:53) How to bring energy and clarity to your work(1:08:07) How to systematize deep thinking(1:10:29) The peeing-in-your-pants analogy (1:11:38) Thoughts on how the Swedish culture is portrayed in Succession (1:13:30) What’s next for Spotify and Spotify Podcasting(1:15:52) Lightning round—Referenced:• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/• Daniel Ek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-ek-1b52093a/• Spotify: A Product Story podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3L9tzrt0CthF6hNkxYIeSB• Spotify’s AI DJ: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-02-22/spotify-debuts-a-new-ai-dj-right-in-your-pocket/• Avicii: https://avicii.com/• DALL-E: https://openai.com/product/dall-e-2• Stable Diffusion: https://stability.ai/• Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/• Brian Chesky: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianchesky/• Succession on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/succession• Fjällräven: https://www.fjallraven.com/us/en-us• 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy: https://www.amazon.com/7-Powers-Foundations-Business-Strategy• Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor: https://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Munger-Tren-Griffin• The Mystery of the Aleph: Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Search for Infinity: https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Aleph-Mathematics-Kabbalah-Infinity• Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime: https://www.amazon.com/Something-Deeply-Hidden• Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution: https://www.amazon.com/Helgoland-Making-Sense-Quantum-Revolution• The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World: https://www.amazon.com/The-Beginning-of-Infinity• The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes—and Its Implications: https://www.amazon.com/The-Fabric-of-Reality• The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes: https://www.amazon.com/The-Case-Against-Reality-audiobook/dp/B07VL5TCVF/ref=sr_1_1• Gödel’s Proof: https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6dels-Proof-Ernest-Nagel• The Demon in the Machine: How Hidden Webs of Information Are Solving the Mystery of Life: https://www.amazon.com/Demon-Machine-Information-Solving-Mystery• Halt and Catch Fire on Apple TV: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/halt-and-catch-fire/umc.cmc.5s15r46uj0wx044tipm2zoh88• Duolingo: https://www.duolingo.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Gustav Söderström has worked at Spotify for a long time; his first big project was leading the launch of its mobile app back in 2009. That makes him the perfect company leader to talk to about Spotify’s recent redesign, which introduces a visual, TikTok-like feed for discovering new content on the app’s homepage. As his boss CEO Daniel Ek put it last week, it’s “the biggest change Spotify has undergone since we introduced mobile.”With the title of co-president and chief product and technology officer, Söderström is responsible for not only how Spotify looks and feels but also all the AI work happening behind the scenes to power its increasingly important recommendations. According to Söderström, it turns out that improving those recommendations is actually at the heart of the big redesign. “I think companies that don’t have an efficient user interface for a machine learning world are not going to be able to leverage machine learning,” he told Alex Heath on the newest episode of Decoder.Links:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NapsterSpotify is laying off 6 percent of its global workforce, CEO announcesSpotify’s new design turns your music and podcasts into a TikTok feedAlex Heath's TweetFunctional versus Unit OrganizationsTwo-Pizza TeamsTranscript:https://www.theverge.com/e/23402123Credits:Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.It was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters and our Executive Director is Eleanor Donovan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gustav Söderström is Spotify’s Chief Research & Development Officer. He has the CPO & CTO responsibility, overseeing the product, design, data, and engineering teams at Spotify and is responsible for Spotify’s product strategy. Gustav is also an entrepreneur and investor who has founded and sold startups that he co-founded to Meta’s Oculus in 2014 and then also his first startup which he co-founded and led as CEO, up until their acquisition by Yahoo! Gustav is also the host of the podcast mini-series  -- Spotify: A product story -- which offers a glimpse into the decisions that have guided Spotify’s product evolution. In Today's Episode with Gustav Söderström 1.) From Selling Companies to Yahoo and Meta to Leading Spotify's Product: How did Gustav first make his way into the world of tech and startups? What was it that made Gustav so compelled to join Daniel Ek and build Spotify? What does Gustav know now that he wishes he had known when he started? 2.) "Never Fight a Macro Wind": What does Gustav mean when he says "never fight a macro wind"? What models can product leaders construct to measure the size, importance and timing of a macro wind? What can product leaders do to change the macro wind and have it blowing in their back and not their face? When did Gustav experience this? What did he change to have the wind blow in his back? How did this alter his mindset and mentality? 3.) "Do Something Completely Different to the Competition": Why does Gustav believe startups should do the complete opposite to the competition? Does this change if your competition is other startups vs incumbents? What is the story of how Spotify did the complete opposite to Youtube? Why did it work? On the flip side, when did Spotify do the complete opposite and it did not work out? 4.) Mastering the Learning Process: How does Gustav approach the learning process for all new skills and disciplines? Why does Gustav believe that all technology leaders have to be the master of their domain? How did this lead to Gustav going back to University to study machine learning? What are the single biggest mistakes people make in the learning process? 5.) Gustav: The Product Leader: Why does Gustav believe that product is 100% science and not art? What does Gustav mean when he says, "talk is cheap and so we should do more of it"? How does Gustav structure internal debates? Who sets the agenda? Who is invited? What makes a good vs a bad internal debate? How does Gustav make everyone feel safe? What can leaders do to ensure an environment where everyone feels they can debate with the boss? 6.) Spotify: The Crucible Moments: What is Gustav's favourite near-death experience in the Spotify journey? Why did Spotify decide to make the move into podcasting and video? How does that additional complexity change the product paradigm of an audio-only platform? How do the single most impactful platforms in the world approach market expansion and when to add new products? What are the best companies in the world not merely technology innovations but also business model innovations? Items Mentioned in Today's Episode: EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/20vc Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!

Audio is no longer just audio anymore -- podcasts now pull from new video platforms like TikTok and older ones like radio, user experience is growing and changing, and it's easier than ever to create audio content. Where do all these mediums converge and where do they diverge -- when it comes to user experience, product design, recommendations, discovery, and more?In this episode from October 2020, a16z general partner Connie Chan and Spotify’s chief R&D officer Gustav Söderström join host Sonal Choksi to discuss the past, present and future of audio. They dig into everything from what the past in radio can tell us about the future, what audio can and will borrow from mediums like video and platforms like TikTok, the role for more interactivity and increased use of tools like machine learning and AI, and more. 

Guests include Gustav Söderström (Spotify), Scott Belsky (Adobe), and Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn). Topics discussed include: AI as the product, the importance of data vs. models, workforce changes in an AI-first world, challenges of model implementation, the value of data, and excitement about the future of AI.

Spotify's co-president and chief product officer, Gustav Söderström, discusses recommendations, audiobooks, app design, and Spotify's aspirations. Alex Cranz joins to talk about streaming news, including the plan to combine Disney Plus and Hulu.

Gustav Söderström, Co-President, CPO & CTO of Spotify, discusses building UX for efficient AI, the future of AGI, AI's impact on media creation, and the automation of cognitive labor. They explore the power of user-curated data, blockchain in content ownership, and the limitations of anthropomorphizing AI. They also delve into AGI, reasoning, intelligence, action models, and the risks and possibilities of AI and agents.

Gustav Söderström, Spotify's co-president and tech guru, dives into the transformative role of AI in music and podcasts. He discusses Spotify's exciting vision for AI-generated content, highlighting how it can enhance listener discovery without overriding human creativity. The conversation explores strategies for integrating podcasts and audiobooks, making user experiences more cohesive. Gustav also addresses the challenges of podcast discoverability, emphasizing the balance between algorithm-driven recommendations and genuine human connection.

Music is universal. It transcends language. Melodies have the power to trigger strong emotions. In fact, our brains release dopamine - the “feel good” hormone - when we listen to music. Today’s guest, Spotify’s Chief R&D Officer Gustav Söderström, has been helping to bring the magic of music, personalized playlists, and more recently, podcasts to people around the world. He’s also led the platform to personalize individual content experiences with the help of artificial intelligence. Pieter and Gustav discuss the platform’s early approach to AI & ML, how he wants to help content creators reach more listeners and the technological details of Spotify’s ability to automatically generate millions of new playlists every day. SUBSCRIBE TO THE ROBOT BRAINS PODCAST TODAY | Visit therobotbrains.ai and follow us on YouTube at TheRobotBrainsPodcast, Twitter @therobotbrains, and Instagram @therobotbrains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining the discussion is Gustav Söderström, Co-President, CPO & CTO of Spotify, who reveals how Spotify has become a leader in AI-powered personalized music recommendations. He dives into the philosophy behind building user interfaces designed for AI efficiency. Topics include the implications of AI on media creation, the automation of cognitive tasks, and the potential of AGI on the horizon. Gustav also reflects on how anthropomorphizing AI can help users grasp its capabilities while considering the risks and benefits of these advancements.