The Spotify Play

Spotify rose to prominence despite long odds, as Swedish tech journalists Sven Carlsson and Jonas Leijonhufvud explain in telling the company’s saga. Only through dogged perseverance did the scrappy firm – which lets users listen to music for free – convince the giants of the music industry to grant it song licenses. And only through stubbornness did Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek stiff-arm increasingly lucrative buyout offers from Microsoft, Google and Tencent. The details of Ek’s ceaseless efforts are both exhausting and inspiring.

Two Swedish Entrepreneurs

Martin Lorentzon and Daniel Ek were ambitious techies. Ek, who became the face of Spotify, loved technology and music, where Napster shaped his tastes and his view of the internet.