As the director of social impact at Spotify, Kerry Steib taps into the power of music, technology and community to drive meaningful social change. In other words, every music-loving millennial’s dream job. Spotify’s social impact efforts are impressive for several reasons, including how effectively they engage multiple stakeholders – artists, fans, employees, partners – to collaborate on solutions. This holistic engagement, combined with how closely social impact efforts tie to Spotify’s business, is due in large part to Kerry’s leadership. I sat down with her to learn more about Spotify’s unique approach to social impact and the path that led her to this role.
Can you tell us more about your role leading social impact and what’s involved in a typical day?
Our social impact team brings artists and fans together to create social change through music and Spotify’s platform. The programs we create start with the idea that music is often a way into exploring something new -- a new perspective, idea, culture, or perception of yourself. These explorations can result in increased knowledge, empathy and action.
For example, we worked with Kealing Middle School in Austin, TX to develop a music production space where kids from diverse backgrounds could meet and collaborate together. To encourage our audience to vote, we shared the stories of eight artists on topics like student debt, guns, and healthcare to make these topics more personal.
I work across the entire company, tapping into the power of our technology, employees, partners, artists, and music fans to create these programs. A lot of my time is spent with nonprofits and experts to gain a better understanding of the issues we’re working on or learning about their work for future projects, which is one of my favorite parts of the gig!
Spotify is headquartered in Sweden. How do you see corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social impact different than in a typical American company?
When I joined Spotify five years ago, I didn’t realize that we already were a values-driven company. From the beginning, Spotify was built on the idea that music should be a part of everyone’s life. I was inspired by our commitment to openness and access for everyone, which led me to start social impact at Spotify. I felt there was so much more we could be doing to make that happen inside and outside our platform.
We're committed to the idea that everyone’s voice matters. Every employee should be able to share her opinion. Every person should be able to discover his next favorite artist. Every musician should be able to reach her fans. This focus on being “for everyone” is something that guides every social impact program we create.
"We need to approach social impact with a deep sense of our unique perspective and value to the... [+]
What is the role of the corporation in driving social change? And how does Spotify support or help drive change in a different way from traditional models?
Most problems can’t be solved by anyone alone. Businesses have powerful tools that can and should be leveraged to help solve these problems. These tools can be the skills of their workers, their distribution channels, the number of people they reach, or their relationships with governments. But how businesses engage in social change – not just that they’re “checking the box” – matters more than ever.
I love that we’re seeing more and more people expect businesses to act with purpose -- and not just to write a check, but to implement policies and programs that actually make sense with their business and drive real change. And consumers are smart. They can immediately see if there’s artifice beneath the work you’re doing and are more vocal than ever in exposing that artifice. As a company, we need to approach social impact with a deep sense of our unique perspective and value to the issues we care about.
We’re a relatively new part of Spotify and we’re focused on building programs, which also means that we’re trying a few different ways to approach social change to see what works for us. We’ve worked with partners who have provided ways for our audience to take action, consulted with us on key issues, or helped us build programs that work for the intended communities.
For example, last year we worked with a series of nonprofits in the early childhood space (Too Small To Fail, Zero to Three, and Vroom) to provide background and tools to inform our Keep Singing program. This program aimed to make it easier for parents to use music to enhance interactive moments with their kids and build social, emotional, and language development. In addition to these consulting partners, we brought on the Family Independence Initiative, whose families gave us feedback on our playlists and had access to Spotify-funded grants to host family music events in their communities.
Can you share a few of the key initiatives you are leading for the company?
We’re focused on how music and artists have contributed to developing more inclusive communities, and how they continue to build compassion and allyship today. We’ll do this through a variety of programs that we’re actively working on right now. We’re also testing new ways for artists to utilize the Spotify platform to activate their fans around causes they’re passionate about. Lots more to come!
What recommendations do you have for millennials and new college graduates who want to pursue a career centered on purpose?
I took a longer-term approach to working in an official “for purpose” career. I spent most of my career in other types of roles -- business and product marketing, sales development -- and I’ve found that a lot of those skills I developed have served me well once I applied them to building out social impact at Spotify. There are no wasted experiences, as long as you’re learning. And always offer to help out teams you’re interested in. People are always understaffed and you’ll learn more by offering to take notes during a meeting or staff an event than anywhere else. Everyone appreciates an extra set of hands!
"There are no wasted experiences, as long as you're learning."
Courtesy of Kerry Steib