Spotify’s vp and co-head of music Marian Dicus is leaving the company for a vp of marketing role at Netflix, Spotify and Netflix confirm to Billboard.
Dicus and Jeremy Erlich have led Spotify's music initiatives since September 2019, after being appointed to the roles in the wake of the departure of Nick Holmsten, Spotify's former global head of music. Spotify says Erlich will lead the music division solo going forward. Dicus will join Netflix in July and will report to CMO Bozoma Saint John.
“Marian is an exceptional marketer, with a diverse background of experiences from which she brings a unique and intuitive approach to strategic and creative marketing," Saint John says in a statement to Billboard.
Before her current role, Dicus was Spotify's global head of artist & label services for two years, and has been at Spotify since 2013, previously leading consumer and content marketing, a role she will return to at Netflix. Before joining Spotify, Dicus was a director of marketing at J.Crew, and spent nine years in marketing and operation roles at Condé Nast.
Spotify has seen considerable growth during Dicus' term co-leading music, increasing its user base from 248 million monthly active users in October 2019 to over 356 million monthly active users as of April 2021. It has also grown its paid subscribers -- which still brings in most of Spotify’s revenue -- from 113 million in 2019 to 158 million this year.
Dicus and Erlich had a major role in Spotify’s Stream On event back in February, where the company announced its upcoming Hi-Fi service and an expansion into 85 new countries. While podcasting has been an increasing focus at Spotify as it pivots to an “audio” company, music is still the breadwinner and will continue to be a major focus for Spotify and its investors for the foreseeable future.
Sir Paul McCartney has revealed that he still approaches songwriting with the same curiosity and playful attitude he had when he was a teenager.
The Beatles icon appeared in conversation with comedian Rob Brydon at London's Roundhouse in Camden on Wednesday (10.06.26), where he shared that he has never been interested in sticking to rules when creating music.
He declared: “I don’t want to know any rules because that’s the fun of it.”
The 83 year old musician, known for beloved hits including Let it Be, Lady Madonna and Love Me Do, also confessed that writing gloomy material does not come naturally to him.
He said: “I have a hard time doing down songs.
“If I’ve got a down song, I’ll suddenly try and lift it, give it a happy ending or something.”
McCartney also reflected on the special connection he first formed with his late bandmate John Lennon.
He admitted: “I look back and I just think, ‘wow’."
The Yesterday singer remembered how they were simply two youngsters from Liverpool who shared a hidden passion for songwriting.
Macca said: “He was the first person I’d met who ever said that.”
The music legend was speaking while promoting his latest solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, a record that revisits moments from his past, and he went on to recall his early experiences with the late George Harrison.
He explained that the song Down South was inspired by the hitchhiking journeys they enjoyed together years before The Beatles rose to worldwide fame.
He described Harrison as a “very erudite, smart guy, very spiritual, very beautiful guy,” adding: “We had some great times together… This really gave The Beatles its strength.”
Looking back after so many years, McCartney said he is now able to appreciate the band's achievements as a fan rather than feeling the need to downplay them.
He said: “I can look back on it now like I’m a major fan.
“When you’re doing it, you’ve got to be a bit modest. But once it’s all done, you don’t have to be modest at all! So I do enjoy looking back on those memories.”
