Officially open for business now is Spotify’s new London Research and Development hub! Obviously playing a massive part in the democratisation of music, Spotify first launched in Sweden back in 2008 and has had somewhat of an immense journey making it now the biggest streaming platform in the world.
This location marks the company’s first major tech centre outside of the US and its home country of Sweden and really reflects the capital’s wealth of tech talent, and represents skills across the fields of engineering, product, design, data, research and insights which are all integral parts to keeping that pole position in the streaming industry.
Back in 2016, I visited the Apple Music Culver City space in Los Angeles for NEO 10Y (here’s a photo created that day), and more recently in London I visited Spotify’s other HQ for an artist session. It was also incredible to see AWAL’s space at Christmas and how well independent artists are truly doing for AWAL to be on such good form. The power of streaming!
Located in the Adelphi Building, near the Strand, Spotify’s new offices will over time also house Spotify’s wider London workforce, who will be moving into the offices later in 2019.
Here’s a preview of the space:
Tom Connaughton, MD of Spotify UK, said: “The UK is famous all over the world for the musical talent that originates here and the strength of the music industry here. As one of Spotify’s biggest markets, it makes perfect sense to expand our team here, and to tap into the large and diverse talent pool to be found in London.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “London is the best place in Europe for tech companies to find a wealth of diverse talent. Spotify’s expansion is a further sign that London is Open to ground-breaking technology.”
To celebrate the launch, Spotify also created a Made In London playlist, which features some of the best music that has been created by artists from London, including the likes of The Clash, Dizzee Rascal, Amy Winehouse and David Bowie.