David Kaefer, Head of Spotify’s Music and Audiobook Businesses, Is Stepping Down

David Kaefer, the Spotify enforcement successful complaint of the company’s euphony and audio businesses, volition permission the institution astatine the extremity of October. The announcement was made connected Wednesday (Oct. 1) done some an interior memo and a LinkedIn station by Kaefer.

Named to Billboard‘s 2025 Power Players list, Kaefer spent 7 years astatine Spotify, astir precocious arsenic planetary caput of euphony and audiobook business. In that role, helium led the company’s euphony licensing and partnerships and its increasing audiobook concern that launched successful 2022. According to Kaefer’s LinkedIn post, aft leaving Spotify, helium plans to beryllium an advisor and put successful tech, media and sustainability. 

Charlie Hellman, presently Spotify’s vp/global caput of euphony product, volition win Kaefer arsenic elder vp and planetary caput of music. Hellman joined Spotify successful 2011 and helped physique immoderate of the company’s archetypal proposal and societal features. 

Separately, connected Tuesday (Sept. 30), Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced helium would measurement down connected Jan. 1, 2026, to beryllium replaced by 2 co-CEOs: co-president/chief concern serviceman Alex Norström and co-president/chief merchandise and exertion serviceman Gustav Söderström. The brace volition study to Ek, who volition modulation to the relation of enforcement chairman. They are expected to beryllium named to the company’s committee of directors.

Below, you tin work the interior memo obtained by Billboard that was written by Norström astir Kaefer’s departure.

Team,

I would similar to instrumentality a infinitesimal to stock immoderate thoughts connected the aboriginal of our Music squad and its leadership.

It has been a pleasance to enactment with and larn from David Kaefer, peculiarly successful his enactment of cardinal euphony functions, including Editorial, Partnerships, and GTM, arsenic good arsenic his extended acquisition navigating innovative manufacture deals. On a idiosyncratic note, I’ve ever valued his strategical saviness and unsocial blend of toughness and humor. From the infinitesimal that helium shared his plans for a new, ideally West Coast-based escapade a fewer months ago, I’ve felt a heavy consciousness of gratitude for his unthinkable run. David volition stay with america until October 24th.

This brings maine to our caller caput of Music vertical, Charlie Hellman. Charlie’s fifteen-year travel present is legendary; successful summation to hiring and serving arsenic a mentor to much palmy Spotifers than I tin count, helium drove the instauration of the US R&D team, Spotify for Artists, and truthful galore of our euphony experiences from our precise archetypal vigor diagnostic to our enlargement into euphony video. As we participate our adjacent epoch of scale, we are centralizing each euphony functions nether his leadership. Charlie’s proven quality to deliberation strategically, advocator for some artists and Spotify’s relation successful increasing Music, and collaborate efficaciously crossed the institution and our manufacture marque him the perfect lea...