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Spotify

This Month

It’s oh so tempting to settle for the algorithm’s choice.

Bugger Spotify, I’m going to make my own playlist

Even by the internet’s grim standards, Spotify Wrapped is a wretched gimmick.

  • Tom Gatti

We’re all suffering from qualitynesia now

Borne along on the tide of technology, it is far too easy to forget that CD players sounded better than Spotify.

  • Sarah O'Connor

November

Joe Rogan, Kim Williams and Elon Musk.

ABC chairman cops ‘watch out’ messages after Joe Rogan criticism

Asked what the ABC could learn from Joe Rogan, the most popular podcast presenter on Spotify, ABC chairman Kim Williams didn’t hold back.

  • Sam Buckingham-Jones
Legendary musician Quincy Jones among his many Grammy awards.

Quincy Jones shows why AI will never beat human brilliance

No algorithm will ever have the real life story that is embedded in the work of a great and original artist.

  • Dave Lee

April

Tesco is one of Britain's largest supermarket chains.

How supermarket shoppers became part of a $3.8b gold rush

As supermarkets hunt for new sources of revenues in an age of rising costs and narrowing margins, they have stumbled on one of their most valuable assets: data.

  • James Warrington
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Bonza planes repossessed; CEO-elect quits; BHP rivals emerge

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

Spotify has joined a growing list of tech companies to cut costs.

How Spotify beat the artist boycotts

Taylor Swift, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Thom Yorke have all pulled their music from the streaming giant. Eventually, all of them gave up.

  • Ellen Pierson-Hagger

March

European Commission vice president Margrethe Vestager addresses the media about the decision against Apple.

Apple fined $3b by EU for using app store to thwart competition

The penalty, announced by the bloc’s antitrust regulator, is the culmination of a five-year investigation set in motion by one of Apple’s biggest rivals, Spotify.

  • Tripp Mickle and Adam Satariano
Taylor Swift wows the crowd at the MCG during the first show of her sold-out three-night run.

Swift, Drake silenced in multibillion-dollar fight over AI

Talks between Universal and TikTok have stumbled over money, copyright and use of artificial intelligence.

  • Anna Nicolaou and Cristina Criddle

February

Apple’s policy of preventing users paying for streaming services away from its own systems is in the legal crosshairs.

EU hits Apple with $825m fine in Spotify music streaming fight

Apple’s policy of stopping streaming services sending customers away from its App Store for cheaper options elsewhere was against EU law, and Spotify complained.

  • Javier Espinoza
Joe Walker, who runs a podcast (formerly called the Jolly Swagman) and snagged a 4.5 hour interview with Ken Henry earlier this year. He has clocked up 150 episodes including big names like historian William Dalrymple, Yanis Varoufakis, Noam Chomsky, and Canadian philosopher Cheryl Misak.

The 4½-hour podcast you’re missing out on

Spotify says Gen Z want shorter podcast episodes and more lighthearted content, but that hasn’t stopped others listening to 4.5-hour epics featuring Ken Henry.

  • Gus McCubbing

December 2023

Spotify chief Daniel Ek has made a tough call on a third round of redundancies this year.

Spotify lays off 1500 staff after podcast spending spree

It’s a gloomy end to the year for employees at the music streaming giant, as 17 per cent of the company has been shown the door.

  • Adam Satariano
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex weren’t short of ideas for Spotify.

Harry, Meghan and the pain of relevance deprivation disorder

What happens when you are the world’s most beloved couple but no-one seems interested?

  • Rowan Dean

November 2023

Canva software engineer Erica Hu limbers up in the company’s on-site gym in Surry Hills in Sydney.

Saunas, ice baths and health allowances: Welcome to the next wave of perks

Employers are ramping up their wellbeing offerings after the pandemic left many employees feeling burnt out. Subsidised gym memberships no longer cut it.

  • Euan Black

September 2023

A new breed of digital cultural entrepreneurs are now earning all or most of their income creating original content for social media.

How social media is fuelling a $9b export boom

A new breed of digital cultural entrepreneurs have doubled their online content to six million in two years in an industry born in people’s living rooms.

  • Nina Hendy
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A lot more valuable than the sound of a washing machine. Harry Styles at the Grammy Awards in February.

Universal Music strikes deal to reshape streaming economics

The world’s largest record company and French streaming service Deezer have agreed an arrangement they expect will lift payouts to professional artists by 10 per cent.

  • Anna Nicolaou

July 2023

Three of the most powerful people in Australian music are (left to right) Amelia Jenner, Jazmine Huggins and Hannah Brewer. They listen to 20 hours of music a week and curate the playlists on Spotify, making careers and building huge followings for artists.

These three Spotify editors are becoming music’s most influential players

Between them, Hannah Brewer, Jazmine Huggins and Amelia Jenner decide what will make up some of the most listened to playlists in the country.

  • Sam Buckingham-Jones

June 2023

Spotify last week cut the Archetypes podcast made by Prince Harry and Meghan’s production company.

Harry and Meghan are ‘f---ing grifters’, says Spotify executive

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been slammed as their reputed $US20 million podcast deal was dropped after one series.

  • Ewan Somerville
ABC Political Editor Andrew Probyn: I’m still trying to come to terms with it.”

Andrew Probyn to go as ABC announces 120 jobs cuts

The public broadcaster is aiming to be more like YouTube, Netflix and Spotify in its latest restructure.

  • Sam Buckingham-Jones
Proposed changes to the Privacy Act place too much burden on individuals, says Sunita Bose, managing director of Digi.

Big tech backs privacy reform but warns against too much consent

Tech giants have warned that changes to the Privacy Act could create shifts in the viability of digital advertising and ad-supported free digital services.

  • John Davidson

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/company/spotify-hr1