The Spotify model: how to create, dissolve, and remix teams to be more dynamic and more innovative

It Depends: Lessons in Technology Leadership

In this episode of It Depends, host Kevin Goldsmith dives into Chapter 26 of his book It Depends: Writing on Technology Leadership 2012–2022. Kevin shares his firsthand experiences with the Spotify model—a revolutionary approach to team organization designed to foster agility, innovation, and collaboration.

Drawing on his years at Spotify, Kevin explains how the model allows teams to dynamically form, dissolve, and remix based on company needs. He also addresses some common misconceptions about its application and reflects on lessons learned from the Spotify model and how to adapt its principles to other organizations.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the accompanying newsletter and share your thoughts via the linked listener survey to help shape the future of the podcast!

Links to things mentioned in the podcast:

• Listener Survey: https://forms.gle/JVeKHsHJKhEM3dvK6
• The book: It Depends: Writing on Technology 2012-2022
• Your host: Kevin Goldsmith
• The newsletter issue with the text of this chapter: https://kevingoldsmith.substack.com/p/the-spotify-model
• The Spotify Model Whitepaper: https://blog.crisp.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/SpotifyScaling.pdf
• The Spotify Model videos: https://blog.crisp.se/2014/03/27/henrikkniberg/spotify-engineering-culture-part-1
• Spotify Q3 2024 Numbers (640 MAU): https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/spotify-q3-2024-earnings-premium-subscribers-1236207771/