In the fast-paced world of digital streaming, leadership changes often signal deeper strategic shifts, and Spotify Technology SA’s recent handling of its advertising chief’s departure has raised eyebrows across the industry. Just a day after DoorDash Inc. announced it had poached Lee Brown, Spotify’s longtime global head of advertising, as its new chief revenue officer, Spotify executives didn’t mince words during their second-quarter earnings call. They openly critiqued the ad business’s sluggish progress, implicitly pointing fingers at Brown’s tenure. This move, detailed in a report from The Information, underscores tensions within Spotify as it grapples with balancing subscription growth against advertising revenue in a competitive audio market.

Brown, who joined Spotify in 2016 and rose to oversee its ad operations, left on July 28, 2025, amid what executives described as dissatisfaction with the pace of innovation in advertising. During the earnings discussion, Spotify’s co-president and chief business officer, Alex Norström, stated that the company was “behind on the plan” for ads, emphasizing the need for faster advancements. CEO Daniel Ek echoed this sentiment, noting that while Spotify’s overall user base and premium subscriptions continue to expand—reaching 626 million monthly active users and 246 million premium subscribers in Q2 2024, according to posts on X from analytics accounts like App Economy Insights—the ad segment has lagged, growing too slowly to match ambitions.

Leadership Vacuum and Strategic Realignment

This public airing of grievances isn’t just corporate theater; it reflects Spotify’s broader push to revitalize its ad business, which accounted for about 13% of total revenue in recent quarters but has faced headwinds from economic uncertainty and competition from rivals like YouTube and Apple Music. Sources familiar with the matter, as reported in Billboard, indicate that Brown’s exit was framed as a necessary step to inject new energy into ad formats, targeting, and partnerships. Spotify’s ad revenue dipped slightly in Q2 2025, prompting Ek to pledge accelerated progress, even as the company reported overall revenue of €3.8 billion, up 20% year-over-year.

Industry insiders see this as part of a pattern at Spotify, where organizational changes have been frequent since late 2023. A December 2023 update on Spotify’s newsroom site highlighted efforts to build a “sustainable business,” including layoffs and restructurings aimed at efficiency. Yet, the ad chief’s departure comes at a pivotal moment: Spotify’s stock tumbled 11% following weak Q2 guidance, as noted in a CNBC analysis, with investors wary of softening ad demand amid broader market slowdowns.

Implications for Spotify’s Ad Ecosystem

Delving deeper, Brown’s move to DoorDash—a company expanding its own ad offerings in food delivery—highlights the fluidity of talent in tech’s revenue-generating roles. DoorDash’s announcement, covered in Bloomberg, positions Brown to leverage his experience in audio ads for a new sector, potentially accelerating DoorDash’s monetization strategies. For Spotify, the vacancy creates an opportunity to rethink its ad stack, which includes innovative tools like Spotify Ads Manager, as promoted on its own site since 2023.

Ek has long championed marketing’s long-term value, resisting short-term cuts, per insights from Marketing Week. However, recent X posts from industry observers, such as those from Campaign Asia, suggest sentiment is mixed: while subscriber growth remains strong, ad revenue’s slight decline—despite overall gains—has fueled calls for bolder strategies, like enhanced programmatic ads or video integrations.

Future Directions Amid Market Pressures

Looking ahead, Spotify’s Q1 2025 earnings highlights, available on its advertising news page, showed promise with advertiser-focused innovations, yet Q2 results indicate execution gaps. Analysts speculate that a new ad leader could prioritize AI-driven personalization to boost engagement, especially as global ad spending rebounds unevenly. Posts on X from users like Catherine Perloff captured the earnings call’s tone, with Ek admitting the ad business “has been moving too slowly,” signaling urgency.

This episode also illuminates Spotify’s cultural dynamics. Past moves, like the controversial $250 million deal with a podcast host in 2020—as recounted in viral X threads by figures like Fernando Cao—demonstrate Ek’s willingness to take risks for growth. Yet, throwing a departing executive “under the bus,” as The Information phrased it in a related briefing, risks morale but may galvanize focus on ads as a growth engine.

Broader Industry Ripples

The fallout extends beyond Spotify. Competitors are watching closely; if ads falter, it could pressure the entire streaming sector’s hybrid revenue models. DoorDash’s gain might inspire similar poaching, intensifying the war for ad talent. For now, Spotify’s path forward hinges on swift leadership appointments and tangible ad improvements, as it aims to solidify its position as the world’s leading audio platform amid evolving consumer behaviors and economic tides.