Spotify
Repositioning Spotify from a music utility to a "culture participation platform".
Role
Brand Strategist (MSc Project)
Services Done
University Project
Timeline
2 Weeks
Year
2026
The Challenge
As part of an MSc brand strategy challenge, our team diagnosed Spotify’s sustainable growth potential. We identified that while Spotify dominates in personalization, it faces two critical equity gaps: a lack of emotional community rituals for listeners and a credibility deficit with creators. The challenge was to move Spotify beyond its role as a "listening utility" and propose a strategy that transforms it into a platform where fans feel true belonging and artists feel meaningfully supported.
The Solution
We proposed Spotify Backstage: a product-led experience designed to close these equity gaps through direct artist-to-fan engagement. The solution centered on an in-app community hub where fans unlock "Backstage passes" to access exclusive content, interactive polls, and fair-access merch drops. By embedding these rituals directly into the UI, we provided a way for Spotify to foster deep emotional attachment and creator trust without disrupting its core low-friction listening experience.
The Result
The project delivered a comprehensive brand equity dashboard and a strategic roadmap for culture-led growth. By shifting Spotify’s positioning toward participation, we demonstrated how the brand could build defensible switching costs through identity and community. This MSc project proved that addressing emotional engagement gaps through product design is the most scalable way to secure long-term relevance and creator loyalty in the highly competitive global streaming market.
