这个播客访谈节目邀请了 Spotify 的创始人兼 CEO Daniel Ek，讨论了音乐行业、他的个人经历、财富以及他对创业的看法。Ek 首先幽默地分享了他的 Spotify 年度回顾结果，透露了他的孩子对他听歌习惯的影响，以及他自己对非洲和乡村音乐的偏好。 Ek 指出了音乐领域的两个重要趋势：一是超本地化，即独特的音乐流派在特定地区获得 prominence；二是全球化，如雷鬼和拉丁音乐等流派已取得全球性的成功。他预测宝莱坞和非洲音乐很快也将成为全球现象。他还谈到了如今音乐的快餐式消费，歌曲需要在最初的几秒钟内吸引听众，这引发了人们对这种现象对文化影响的讨论。 Ek 深入探讨了他的成长经历，他出生于斯德哥尔摩一个工人阶级的郊区，并强调这个地区既培养了高成就者，也面临着许多挑战。他强调了“相信自己”的重要性，鼓励人们利用自己的技能和知识。他回顾了自己早期的创业经历，包括 14 岁时建立网站，在互联网泡沫时代取得财务成功后，23 岁时“退休”，随后意识到自己迷失在拥有财富的生活方式中，于是重返工作岗位，从事自己的项目。他分享了他的动机，包括与能够向其学习的人在一起，在做自己喜欢的事情的同时享受乐趣，以及对世界产生积极的影响。在与同样拥有财富的联合创始人 Martin Lorentzon 讨论激情项目时，这促成了 Spotify 的想法。 Ek 承认，在流媒体时代之前，音乐行业被 Napster 和 Kazaa 等非法下载服务所主导。他将 Spotify 的角色定位为通过普及流媒体来拯救音乐行业。 他回应了对 Spotify 的批评，特别是围绕艺术家报酬的复杂叙事，强调虽然音乐行业正处于历史最高水平，并且越来越多的艺术家可以通过他们的音乐谋生，但由于音乐制作的民主化，竞争也急剧增加。他表示，尽管现在在音乐领域取得成功的人数绝对值增加了，但由于准入门槛低，成功者的比例却下降了。他也在努力应对自己的财富所带来的社会影响，认为财富不平等是一个与他的价值观和北欧传统相悖的社会问题。 对于有抱负的创业者，Ek 强调现有的资源和人才非常丰富，但关键在于心态。他表示，欧洲需要更多成功案例来激励他人，并鼓励冒险精神。他对初学者的第一条建议就是迈出第一步，去做。他强调，只要开始创业，就已经进入了前 1% 的行列。这是最大的障碍，而且一家公司从最初的想法开始，会发生很多变化。 他还提到了 Spotify 的斯堪的纳维亚和挪威血统，这也对他的创业起到了重要作用。 Ek 强调了助理在驾驭企业结构中的力量，分享了一个通过与助理交好来获得关键会议机会的轶事。他还谈到了建立正确关系的重要性，并表示他“可能是 Spotify 中权力最小的人”。 关于 Spotify 的未来，Ek 强调简化用户体验，以最小的摩擦促进从 A 点到 B 点的移动，优先考虑消费者和创作者的需求。他设想 Spotify 成为一个值得信赖的朋友，能够将用户引导到他们通常不会自己发现的内容，这可以通过专注于解决消费者和创作者当前面临的问题来实现。 当被问及如何定义 Spotify 时，Ek 表示 Spotify 是一个“训练有素”的朋友，目前正在努力实现两全其美。 他还简要提到了试图收购阿森纳足球俱乐部，因为自从 1991 年以来，阿森纳一直是他的最爱。 Ek 表示，作为领导者，他从体育运动中学到的最重要的一点是，在体育运动中，你可以拥有 11 名球员，而商业是不公平的，因为一个团队可以拥有比另一个团队更多的球员。作为一名领导者，他认为更重要的是发挥团队的优势，而不是适应当前的模式。 他将自己持续的动力归功于创作者社区中蕴藏的巨大潜力，他希望通过音乐来促进具有影响力的时刻，以及他致力于支持其他创业者的决心。他表示，在他“短暂的生命”中，还有很多事情要做。 Ek 最后承认了他个人的挣扎，包括觉得自己不够好和缺乏耐心，但他强调了明智地利用时间，让世界变得更美好的重要性。

This podcast interview features Daniel Ek, the founder and CEO of Spotify, discussing the music industry, his personal journey, wealth, and his perspectives on entrepreneurship. Ek begins by humorously sharing his Spotify Wrapped results, revealing his kids' influence on his listening habits, alongside his own preferences for African and country music. Ek identifies two significant trends in music: hyper-localization, with unique genres gaining prominence in specific regions, and globalization, where genres like reggaeton and Latin music have achieved worldwide success. He predicts Bollywood and African music will soon become global phenomena. He also touches on the rapid consumption of music today, with songs needing to hook listeners within the first few seconds, sparking a debate about its impact on culture. Ek delves into his upbringing in a working-class suburb of Stockholm, emphasizing that the area produced both high achievers and individuals facing challenges. He stresses the importance of "betting on yourself," encouraging people to leverage their skills and knowledge. He recounts his early entrepreneurial ventures, including building websites at 14, his "retirement" at 23 after achieving financial success in the dot-com era, followed by the realization that he felt lost in the lifestyle of having wealth, and a return to work on his own projects. He shares his motivations, which includes being around people he can learn from, having fun while doing what he's doing, and having a positive impact on the world. This led to the idea for Spotify when he discussed passion projects with co-founder Martin Lorentzon who also had wealth. Ek acknowledges that the music industry, pre-streaming, was dominated by illegal downloading services like Napster and Kazaa. He frames Spotify's role in saving the music industry by popularizing streaming. He addresses criticisms of Spotify, specifically the complex narrative around artist compensation, highlighting that while the music industry is at an all-time high and more artists can make a living from their music, the competition has increased drastically due to the democratization of music production. He says that although there are now more successful people in music in absolute terms, the ease of access mean that on a percentage basis, there are fewer people succeeding. He grapples with the societal implications of his wealth, viewing wealth inequality as a societal issue that is in conflict with his values and Nordic heritage. For aspiring entrepreneurs, Ek emphasizes that existing resources and talent are plentiful, but the key lies in mindset. He expresses his belief that Europe needs more success stories to inspire others and encourage risk-taking. His first piece of advice to a novice would be to take that first step, to do it. He emphasizes to just start the company, and that they are already rating the top 1%. It is the biggest hurdle, and that there are so many things that can change in a company from it's original idea. He also touches on Spotify's Scandinavian and Norwegian roots, as that also played an important role in his startup. Ek underscores the power of assistants in navigating corporate structures, sharing an anecdote about how befriending an assistant secured him crucial meetings. He also talks about the importance of the right relationships, and says that he is "probably the least powerful person in Spotify." Regarding Spotify's future, Ek emphasizes simplifying user experiences and facilitating the movement from point A to point B with minimal friction, prioritizing both consumer and creator needs. He envisions Spotify becoming a trusted friend, capable of introducing users to content they wouldn't typically discover on their own, which can be achieved by focusing on addressing the current problems facing consumers and creators. When asked how he would define Spotify, Ek states that Spotify is an "incredibly well trained" friend, and is now working on making the best of both worlds. He also briefly mentions trying to purchase Arsenal because it has been his favorite team since 1991. Ek says that the most important thing he has learned from sports as a leader is that in sports you can have 11 players, and business is unfair because one team can have a lot more players than the other team. As a leader, he believes that it is more important to play to the teams' strengths rather than fitting into the current box. He attributes his continued motivation to the vast untapped potential within the creator community, his desire to facilitate impactful moments through music, and his commitment to supporting other entrepreneurs. He states that there are so many things to do in "the short time" he is alive. Ek concludes by acknowledging his personal struggles, including feelings of inadequacy and impatience, but emphasizes the importance of using time wisely to leave the world in a better place.