The Band Evolution

Culture isn’t static. It’s alive, it evolves, and just like a great band, it needs regular tune-ups to stay in sync. That’s why every few years, we have what could be called a culture check-in or refresh – we take a step back, connect with our people, and make sure our values, mission, and culture still resonate with who we are and where we’re headed. In 2025, it was time for us to do exactly that, so that’s why we took to the stage again with The Band Evolution.

Take a Beat

It’s been a few years since our last cultural check-in and as a purpose-driven company it’s essential to enable all our bandmates to understand how they can connect with, and contribute to the mission, purpose and culture. 

We ran the Passion Tour in 2015, the Passion Tour Encore in 2015/16, created our Band and Manager Manifestos in 2020, and hit the road with The Band Reunion in 2021. 

Since then, we’ve evolved – we’re no longer start-up nor scale-up. We’re a young adult and our maturity stage creates the perfect moment to take a beat, reconnect, and ensure our culture remains as vivid, clear, and inspiring as ever.

The Band Evolution, which we’ve just rolled out, is providing us with the chance to rally every bandmate and reignite our shared sense of purpose, culture, and mission, making sure everyone can find their connection directly to the beating heart of Spotify.

What’s the Band Evolution All About?

At its core, the Band Evolution is focused on connection and purpose. It’s about bringing every bandmate closer to our mission, values, and culture through meaningful conversations and shared experiences. It’s a cultural refresh designed to be engaging, playful, and easy to roll out across our distributed teams.

We’re keeping it simple yet impactful, even though it consists of many components. We’ve built a hub on Bounce, to make it easy to find interviews with our CEO talking about values, culture, purpose, and mission. There are videos with bandmates from around the globe, giving their perspective on our culture and the part they play in maintaining and evolving it. The Band Manifesto and Manager Manifesto are also found in the hub, and we’re encouraging all band members to reflect on what all this means to them.

Another component is a manager-led digital workshop, which has been designed to be scalable whilst fostering intimate, high-quality discussions. Every team will get the chance to pause, reflect, and talk about what our culture means today – and how we shape it for tomorrow.

A Great Experience 

We designed the workshop in a way that makes it easy for any manager to run, no matter how skilled or unskilled they are in facilitation. It’s almost plug-and-play, and managers will be accompanied by a digital facilitator buddy (anyone heard of X, our Spotify AI DJ?) who talks them and their team through the workshop. 

We’re a global, distributed band, and that’s why the Band Evolution was designed to work anywhere, at any time. Teams will be able to run the workshop with minimal prep, using digital tools to spark engaging discussions. As designers, our focus has been on making it easy, accessible, and, most importantly, meaningful.

Why This Matters

Alongside The Band Evolution, we’re reviewing our cultural manifestos, to make sure they still stand the test of time. We’re also taking a closer look at all the people processes and initiatives that shape our culture – things like onboarding, performance development, and leadership training – to make sure they still align closely. 

Spotify’s culture is what makes us, us. It’s what attracts the right people, keeps us inspired, and helps us build a workplace where creativity thrives. Taking the time to check in, reconnect, and recommit isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s essential. It keeps us in tune with our values, strengthens our sense of community and connection, and ensures we continue to evolve in a way that’s true to who we are. The beat goes on…

This is our evolution!