Gustav Söderström on product, big bets, and AI impacting the future of music

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.

Discussed in the episode:

• 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

Timestamps

(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