With its particular combination of talent, ambition, culture, and, of course, world-famous music, the U.K. has been an important piece of the Spotify puzzle since we launched in 2008. Today, as one of our biggest research and development hubs, it's where we experiment with some of our most exciting new launches and products, including audiobooks in Premium, video-based learning courses, and, most recently, AI Playlist.
Spotify's success in the U.K. is due in large part to the country's open, connected, and competitive economy. Exceeding £1 trillion, the U.K.'s technology market is the largest in Europe and the third-largest in the world.
But the country is also at a crossroads, with profound technological, political, and economic changes on the horizon. That's why Spotify decided to gather industry leaders across the tech, media, and policymaking landscape for an action-packed evening at our London office. Together, we celebrated the entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of the U.K. while exploring how the country remains at the forefront of technological advancement and innovation.
On April 16, we assembled entrepreneurs and trailblazers for a series of candid and thought-provoking conversations alongside a group of influencers, commentators, and policymakers. Dustee Jenkins, Chief Public Affairs Officer at Spotify, hosted the evening.
NEXT
To kick things off, she sat down with Brent Hoberman, who cofounded the online travel and leisure retailer lastminute.com in 1998. Together, the pair discussed how we can help the next generation of businesses flourish. As cofounder of the Founders Forum network, Brent has been instrumental in nurturing and inspiring tech entrepreneurship around the world over the past two decades.
Primarily what is organic here [in the U.K.] is talent, he noted. There is a huge depth of talent. It's one of the highest densities of top corporates: Those corporates actually educate and train talent, and a lot of that talent wants to work at startups. You've got talent, capital and skills.
Spotify's Co-President and Chief Business Officer Alex Norstr m then sat down with venture capitalist Harry Stebbings, host of The Twenty Minute VC podcast. Harry launched the podcast as a teenager in 2015 and has since interviewed thousands of investors, entrepreneurs, and startup founders. The two unpacked how founders can overcome barriers to growth in today's tech sector, and Harry asked Alex what he likes about London.
I'm impressed by the passion of London, Alex replied. I came here thinking I was going to get a lot of rain. I got vibrancy and dynamism, both culturally as well as in business.
Last but not least, Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice of York-founder of BY-EQ and Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy at Afiniti-hosted a fireside chat with Priya Dogra, Former President of WarnerBros Discovery for EMEA, and Sakshi Chhabra Mittal, founder and CEO of Foodhak, a science-based meal delivery service. The three discussed the impact tech is having on mission-driven companies and strategies for designing businesses in the modern age, as well as how to bring more women into tech.
Said Sakshi, In the U.K., there is genuinely a desire to lead the pack.
Meanwhile, looking at the country's tech landscape from a media perspective, Priya observed, The interesting thing about the U.K. is that it is such a big hub for production: such high quality for film, for TV, for gaming, for graphic talent, and also for infrastructure. There's almost a fight for sound stages, because there's such high demand.
To add a little entertainment to the mix, U.K.-based artist Joesef capped off the evening with a special performance. Joesef, who has graced stages from Glasgow to Glastonbury, is an ambassador for GLOW, Spotify's global music program celebrating and amplifying LGBTQIA+ artists and creators.
This was an exciting opportunity to showcase and uplift the U.K. tech community, but the event also comes at a pivotal moment. As the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (DMCC) makes its way through U.K. Parliament, future policy plans for the sector are beginning to form. The DMCC ensures that the U.K.'s vibrant ecosystem, which many have worked so hard to build, can continue to thrive and compete on the global stage. To learn more about the DMCC, visit Time to Play Fair.
Most recent headlines
18/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
18/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
18/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
18/12/2025
Long-term agreement includes the SES SCORE platform and hybrid distribution worldwide to deliver more than 5,000 hours of golf tournaments annually featuring th...
18/12/2025
At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RT , then 2RN, delivered the fledgling new Irish state's first public radio transmission. From those first c...
18/12/2025
Step out of the vault and into the future of gaming with Fallout: New Vegas streaming on GeForce NOW, just in time to celebrate the newest season of the hit Ama...
18/12/2025
December 18 2025, 05:30 (PST) The Movie Experience SLO Becomes First U.S. Exhib...
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons During Unforgettable ...
17/12/2025
ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ...
17/12/2025
Inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games Debut Under the Lights' in Primetime on ...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
17/12/2025
December 17 2025, 17:00 (PST) Dolby and LG Unveil a New Era of Home Audio With ...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Inside The Unseen World Of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals The...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix announces PAPARAZZI KING: the docu series coming to Ne...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole Pr...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Welcomes Warner Bros. Discovery Board Recommendation
Business
17 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
After Careful Revi...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
The Hao AI Lab research team at the University of California San Diego - at the forefront of pioneering AI model innovation - recently received an NVIDIA DGX B...
17/12/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
With its particular combination of talent, ambition, culture, and, of course, world-famous music, the U.K. has been an important piece of the Spotify puzzle since we launched in 2008. Today, as one of our biggest research and development hubs, it's where we experiment with some of our most exciting new launches and products, including audiobooks in Premium, video-based learning courses, and, most recently, AI Playlist.
