The Band Manifesto | Life at Spotify

01. Values are innovative, sincere, passionate, collaborative and playful. ; 02. Culture is informed and influenced by every member of the Spotify Band. ; 03. LocationsBeinghereDiversity,Equity&ImpactStudentsHowWeHireLatestAllJobsHereatSpotify,weliketothinkofourselvesasabandOk,sure,wedon’tlookalotlikethatgroupyouputtogetherinhighschoolthatcouldonlyplayoneLedZeppelinsong,butwestillthinkthecomparisonfits.Likeaband,we’redependentoneachothertocreatethebestaudioexperience.Likeaband,weneedtobeinsync.Andlikeanysuccessfulband,wehaveasetofrules,abandmanifesto,thatkeepsusfocusedonwherewewanttogoandguideshowwegetthere.Thisisthatmanifesto.Itexplainsourmission,ourbeliefs,ourculture,ourvalues,andeverythingelseinbetween.Prettymuchtheonlythingitwon’tteachyouishowtoplayanewLedZeppelinsong,that’sjustsomethingyou’regoingtohavetolearnonyourown.OurmissionSpotifyisapurpose-drivencompany,usingourstrongvaluesandbeliefstoguideusinourstrategiesaswellasoureverydaydecisions.Tounlockthepotentialofhumancreativitybygivingamillioncreatorstheopportunitytoliveofftheirartandbillionsoffanstheopportunitytoenjoyandbeinspiredbyit.HowdowegetthereBybelievinginourtalentedbandmembers,givingthemthesupportandautonomytheyneedtocreate.Andlotsofcoldbrew.Ifyoujointheband,therearefivevalueswithwhichyou’llquicklybecomefamiliarastheyformthefoundationofSpotifyculture.Ifthesevaluesalignwithyourown,iftheysoundlikethekindofpeopleyouwanttobesurroundedby,thencomeandhelpusinspirepeopletolistentotheworldaroundthem.OurvaluesOurvaluesareinformedandinfluencedbyeverymemberoftheSpotifyband.Forus,thesearemorethanjustwordsonapage.Theseprinciplesguideeachdecisionwemake,servingasthepathwe’llfollowtoachieveourgoalsandmission.Thesevalueshelpusbuildtrustwithourusers,creators,advertisers,partners,andevenamongstourselves.Theyensurethatwearethesamecompanythatstandsforthesamethingsnomatterouraudience.1of5MakingsomenoiseWe’vemadeitourbusinesstomakesomenoise.We’renotcontenttositidlybyandwaitforotherstheforgenewpaths-wewanttolearnfasterthantheworldaroundusischanging.Inshort,changeisourconstant.We’rededicatedtorelentlessinnovation,ensuringourtechnologystaysrelevant,easytouse,andeasytoscale.TheSpotifyrhythmWebelievethatspeedofiterationbeatsqualityofiteration,whichiswhywe’renotbigonbureaucracy.Tous,complicatedprocessesandguidelinescankillinnovation.We’dratherjuststayfocusedandprioritizeruthlessly.(It’skindoflikeyourpersonalTo-Dolist,justonsteroids.)Andinthespiritoftransparency,we’lladmitthatbeingprocess-lightsometimesinvitesalittlebitofchaosintooureveryday.Weembraceit.Alittlebitofchaosforcesyoutothinkinnewways,breakoutofyouroldpatterns.Itkeepsusfast,focused,andinventive.Workingfastmeansactingwithconsent,notconsensus.Evenifthemajoritycan’tcometoanagreement,it’simportanttokeepmoving,takeachance,andexecute.Aslongaswe’realwaysmakinggroundedandinformeddecisions,weshouldn’tbeafraidtomakeabet.Becausehere,gettingideasoutintotheworldtakeprecedence.Dreambig,actfastWebelieveinmaintainingthatrelentlesslyresourcefulstart-upspirit.Complacencyisourenemy-wetakesmartrisksandsetthebarhighaswecontinuallythink,build,ship,andtweak.Westrivetostayreceptiveandflexible,adaptingandactingonwhatweobserve. Weworkhardtofindthebestwaytogetthingsdone,evenifit’snotthemostobviousway.Andthenwedoitagainandagain.ThebeatgoesonWhenwewin,wecelebratethesuccesstogether.Whenwefail,wecelebratethenewvaluableinformationthatwelearned.Failureisanimportantpartofourprocess.It’sthebestindicationthatwe’retryingsomethingnew,thatwe’rereachingforwhat’snext.Andanundesirableoutcomedoesn’tmeanthatthewrongdecisionwasmade-itmeanswetookaninformedrisk,asyoumustwhenpursuinginnovation.Ifitworked,wewould’vewonbig.Ifitdidn’t,that’sok.Wemoveon,keeptrying,andgiveeachotherthefreedomtofailagain.Wedon’tfearmistakesbutwerefusetorepeatthem.Thisextraordinaryrhythmrequiresextraordinarypeople.Weseekthosewhohavethecreativitytodiscover,theaccountabilitytodeliver,andthecouragetoembracecomplexityaswellaspolarity.BeingpartoftheSpotifybandmeansstayingpassionate,nurturingyourcuriosity,andwelcoming(andoftentimesevendriving)change.Ideasdriveus,notbureaucracyOurvaluesaremorethanjustwordsonapage.Theseprinciplesguideeachdecisionwemake,servingasthepathwe’llfollowtoachieveourgoalsandmission.WhoyouareOurbandisdependentonallofitsmemberstogiveandgetthefullexperience.Werelyonyoutohelpbringourvaluestolifeinrealtime,todiscussthemopenlywithyourteamandworktogethertointegratethemintoyourprocess.IfyoujoinSpotify,weexpectyoutocare-aboutyourwork,aboutSpotify,aboutthesuccessoftheentireband.Youshouldtakeownershipfortheworkyoudoandtakeprideinwhatyoudeliver,bothindividuallyandasateam. IfyoujoinSpotify,weexpectyoutogrow.Growthisourmantra,bothforSpotifyandforourpeople.Thetwogohandinhand.Youshouldbeself-driven,readytotakecontrolofyourowndevelopmentandreachyourfullpotential.PlayinginsyncSo,nodivas.Gotthat.Butwhatelsegoesinto“beingnice”?Well,wetreatallofourcolleagues,users,creators,andpartnerswithrespect.Weassumegoodintentandworkhardtoachievemutualunderstanding.Werecognizethatweallbringourownuniqueperspectivestothetableandthatwiththoseperspectivesmaycomesomeunconsciousbiases.Sowhilewehavetheconfidencetovoiceouropinions,wealsohavethehumilitytolistenandlearnfromothers.HereatSpotify,we’rededicatedtofosteringaworkplacefreefromdiscriminationandaculturebuiltontheprincipleofinclusion.Westronglybelievethatadiversityofexperience,perspectives,andbackgroundswillleadtoabetterenvironmentforouremployeesandabetterproductforourusersandcreators.Thinkaboutit--withoutadiversityofinstruments,aband’soutputwouldbeprettyboring.There’sareasonwhyyourfavoritebandisn’tjustfivetubasplayingatonce.MusicisglobalandsoSpotifyshouldbetoo.Webelieveinaninclusiveculturewhereeveryonefeelsempoweredtosharetheirfullselves,whereeveryonefeelsliketheybelong.Webelieveinaninclusiveculturewhereeveryonefeelsempoweredtosharetheirfullselves,whereeveryonefeelsliketheybelong.Aculturewhereinnovative,passionate,andplayfulpeoplecangrow,havefun,anddotheirbestwork.Aculturethatdevelopsanddeepenswitheverynewteammemberbutalwaysstaystruetoourcorevalues.LeadingthebandTheforemostthingwelookforinourmanagersisthewillingnessandcouragetolead.LeadersatSpotifyneedtobebraveaswellasresilientandadaptable.Theyneedtobuildhealthyteams,workfromasustainablemindset,and,mostimportantly,holdthemselvesaccountable.Whenyouleadwithpurpose,engagementanddrivefollow.Butwedon’thirehighlycompetentpeopletohavethemmicro-managed.Weuseconstantplanningandone-on-onestoopencommunicationchannelsratherthanadmin-heavy,timeconsuming,template-drivenappraisaltalks.Webelievethatitisn’tourresponsibilitytomanagetalent,we’reheretodeveloptalent."Wehavenotimeforentitledegos."DanielEk,CEOOurencore01Valuesareinnovative,sincere,passionate,collaborativeandplayful.02CultureisinformedandinfluencedbyeverymemberoftheSpotifyBand.03Changeisourconstant.04Growthisourmantra.05AudioisglobalandSpotifyshouldbetoo.06Ideasdriveusnotbureaucracy."Welcometocontrolledchaos."KatarinaBerg,ChiefHROfficerQuickclicksExploreourgloballocationsLocationsStudents,makeanimpactnotthecoffeesStudentsReadaboutdiversity,equity&impactDiversity,equity&impact