The Spotify Play: How CEO And Founder Daniel Ek Beat Apple, Google, And Amazon In The Race For Audio Dominance By Sven Carlsson And Jonas Leijonhufvud

I received this book specifically to write a review. That said, I try to be open and honest in all my reviews..

The book is not what I expected. Based on the editorial release and dust jacket, I was expecting a modern day robin hood who took down the evil music empires.

Instead, we are given a portrait of Daniel Ek, Swedish founder of Spotify. Our story starts when Ek is making a desperate gamble to take over music streaming in the USA.

Opposing Ek’s “free streaming” model is none other than Steve Jobs, Mr. Apple, who has a lock on the market with his combination of iPods and iPads and iTunes.

Ek tells his colleagues that Steve Jobs called him to breath into the phone.

You are left to believe that this, and many other incidents in the book, were fictional and based almost soley on the overworked imagination of the somewhat “off kilter” Ek.

(Just to be transparent, the authors did not interview Ek or his Spotify associates to write the book. Their extensive research is based on poring through the public records and on-line fora.)

I like that the book does not sugar-coat things. Ek is portrayed as someone interesting, but not a chap you would want over for dinner or date your daughter.

He had some good ideas, but he was also self indulgent, could be abusive in relationships (personal and business), and was willing to push very hard to get what he wanted.

The book glosses over this point a bit, but does mention it. Ek has seminal in establishing a system where new music is essentially a free service, and it eliminated the small and middle markets for up and coming musicians.

You might not laud Ek after reading this book, but you will understand him better.

The book offers a compelling narrative that chronicles the challenges and triumphs faced by Daniel Ek as he navigated the highly competitive landscape of the music streaming industry. The author’s storytelling prowess keeps the reader engaged from start to finish, making it difficult to put the book down.

Insightful Industry Analysis: “Spotify Play” provides a comprehensive analysis of the music streaming industry and the giants that dominate it, namely Apple, Google, and Amazon. The book uncovers the strategic moves, innovative ideas, and bold decisions made by Daniel Ek, which allowed Spotify to not only compete with but surpass these tech behemoths.

Entrepreneurial Inspiration: Daniel Ek’s entrepreneurial journey serves as a powerful source of inspiration for aspiring business leaders and innovators. His relentless pursuit of his vision, unwavering determination, and ability to challenge the status quo demonstrate valuable lessons that can be applied to any industry or endeavor.

✅I hope you’ve found the information and my review helpful.✅

“The Spotify Play: How CEO and Founder Daniel Ek Beat Apple, Google, and Amazon in the Race for Audio Dominance” by Sven Carlsson and Jonas Leijonhufvud is an interesting read. I hadn’t realized how competitive the audio market was and I’m not a particular fan of Spotify either. (To be fair, I’m not fond of many of the streaming audio services.)

That said, as a piece of news/biograghy, it is highly readable. It does seem a little cheerlead-y but overall, it was a good read.

Es un libro muy tedioso por todo lo que conlleva la historia de Spotify, sin embargo los autores logran desarrollar muy bien la historia de este Start-Up y asi aprender un poco.

A comprehensive look at how Spotify’s model managed to achieve a music platform that up to that point had seemed rather impossible– and beat out huge competitors like Apple (not to mention Spotify’s play in podcasting that came next). The authors clearly did their homework, had really impressive access to history and sources, and report from an honest and objective angle. I hope they continue to follow Spotify’s strategy and that they’re able to update/bring fresh info to future editions. Recommended reading!