Spotify CEO does damage control after his ‘reductive’ comments about creators spark backlash

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek drew criticism online for saying the cost of content creation was “close to zero.”

Spotify’s CEO is doing some damage control after upsetting users with “reductive” comments about content creation.

The saga began last week with a post from Daniel Ek on X, formerly Twitter.

“Today, with the cost of creating content being close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content,” he wrote. “This has sparked my curiosity about the concept of long shelf life versus short shelf life. While much of what we see and hear quickly becomes obsolete, there are timeless ideas or even pieces of music that can remain relevant for decades or even centuries.”

His comments about the cost of making content being “close to zero” rubbed many people the wrong way, and they quickly sounded off in his replies — with some criticizing Spotify’s royalty payments to artists.

“Good content costs money to make. Especially if you’re an artist who gets paid fractions of a cent for their ‘content,'” one person wrote.

“Music will still be valued in a hundred years. Spotify won’t. It will only be remembered as a bad example of a parasitic tool for extracting value from other peoples music. (or “content” as some grifters like to call it) AI will seal your fate,” another person added.

Ek responded to the backlash in a subsequent post on Sunday.

“Obviously seeing the feedback to this one and wanted to respond. It’s clear I was far too vague in the post, including with my clumsy definition of content. I understand how it came across as very reductive and that wasn’t my intent,” he wrote. “Just to clarify – my original point was not to devalue the time, effort, or resources involved in creating meaningful works, whether it’s music, literature, or other forms of creative expression.”

He also tried to reword his original remarks.

“The significant drop in the cost of creation tools (microphones, laptops, cameras) has led to an unprecedented explosion in the volume of what people are able to produce,” he said. “Creation is only part of the equation.”

Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It makes sense that Ek is looking to address the criticism from his original post. Spotify has been trying to position itself as a creator platform in recent years, and angering or alienating content creators — who go through the effort to make the music and podcasts that keep people coming back to Spotify — wouldn’t be good for business.

The company in 2022 said it had a “vision to become the world’s creator platform.” Spotify has been trying to compete with TikTok on short video and discovery and YouTube on video podcasts.

Spotify is also raising prices in the US, announcing on Monday that Premium plans would be increasing in July. An individual plan will now cost $11.99 a month, a student account $5.99, a “Duo” plan $16.99, and family plans $19.99.