Hack Week has become something of Spotify lore. The beloved Discover Weekly playlist originated as a Hack Week idea, as did the ability to exclude select playlists from your Taste Profile. Now Spotify employees across functions worldwide look forward to the annual week where they put their regular work aside and collaborate on ideas that combine their passions, creativity, and skills. But developing Hack Week into the massive event that thousands of Spotify employees participate in annually is a feat in itself.
According to Sarah G nsicke and Nanci Veitch, Spotify Project Managers for R&D Communities, Hack Week started out as a hot potato in the early days of the company. Each year it had the same skeleton-a kick-off event, a week of hacking, a fair, and local People's Choice awards, but no repeatable format from a project management perspective, Sarah shared. As Spotify matured, its teams turned Hack Week into a full-scale experience with a dedicated internal website, Skill Exchange portal (itself a Hack Week project), a developed visual identity, and an internal communications campaign to generate excitement and spread knowledge. What has been great about the intentional scaling and effort behind the program is that it's created a space for Hack Week to exist all year round rather than just being an engineering event that happens somehow every year, said Nanci. Hack Week has also expanded to include non-R&D employees and now has a long legacy throughout the company.
The benefits of Hack Week-providing opportunities to collaborate outside of one's everyday team, giving employees flexibility to improve upon the product, offering ways to stretch beyond comfort zones-are endless. Nanci and Sarah offered five thoughtful tips to teams and companies looking to host their own hack weeks.
Create dedicated program management and identity. Though our core event has mostly stayed the same throughout the years, having a process that's driven by a schedule and a set of principles has allowed us to make improvements to our communications, reduce barriers to entry, and increase the ease of participation for a diverse group of participants. For example, we developed a Hack Hub where employees can find hack ideas, explanations on how to join a team, and examples for a great hack. We also have a dedicated visual identity for Hack Week, which has helped to inspire and attract non-R&D employees.
Be inclusive. It's not just who gets involved, but how you're opening the door to them. We've enabled employees worldwide to join Hack Week by holding a mostly virtual event that abides by our distributed first principles. This year, we have hackers representing most of our global offices. We've also found ways to ensure Hack Week is not just for engineers. Members across many disciplines now engage in Hack Week. We encourage this by spotlighting nontraditional hacks and roles like user researchers, product designers, and music team members so they can see available opportunities. Encouragingly, we've found that individuals who join Hack Week are over 50% more likely to do it again.
Make the themes innovative and inspiring. This year's theme is The Future Is . . . and it builds on a base of big-picture ideas inspired by recommendations from Spotify leaders. We recommend connecting the Hack Week theme back to your company's core identity and priorities, but it's also important to make the theme broad enough to allow for creative interpretation. With a powerful theme, people believe they're setting their own mission. We want to set the stage for hacks that push boundaries, Nanci and Sarah noted.
Step out of your comfort zone. Hack Week is short, leaving many projects left unfinished-and that's part of the beauty of the week. Goal-setting during Hack Week takes many forms but doesn't necessarily include completion of the product. Hackers are encouraged to embrace the Spotify value of playfulness and utilize the week to get out of their day-to-day roles. We also recommend connecting and working with individuals outside of one's direct realm. This really allows Hack Week to be a tool for interpersonal connection as well as a meaningful professional experience.
Don't be afraid to bring in outside perspectives. This goes for participants and coordinators. Hack Week is a collaboration between Spotify's dedicated Hack Week team and Say It Good Studio, a branding and communications studio that created and built Spotify's Hack Week hub. We treat Hack Week internally as if it's an external campaign, keeping track of click-through rates and the like, explained Sarah. Having an external partner helps us avoid our biases, maintain good communication, and ensure it's a more accessible process for everyone in the organization.
Over the years, we've also brought inspirational figures into Hack Week to help our teams get excited about hacking. Notable artists involved in our internal campaign challenged hackers to make space ahead of Hack Week 2021 and make the planet cooler during Hack Week 2022.
Like any good project, there's always room for improvement. One challenge that we're still working through is that it's hard to follow hacks from Hack Week to reality, Nanci explained. We began methodically tracking Hack Week projects in 2022 to address this and now use our Skill Exchange as a library to keep a close eye on projects that continue into development.
As for what the future of Hack Week at Spotify holds-we'll leave that to the hackers to determine.
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
09/03/2026
A powerful new national initiative supporting people living with dementia launch...
06/03/2026
Ten years after its release, South African hip-hop artist Kwesta's DaKAR II is still making waves. With 51.8 million streams on Spotify, the album continues...
06/03/2026
06 Mar 2026
VEON and JazzWorld Advance Pakistan's Digital Financial Future ...
06/03/2026
Friday 6 March 2026
Teaser revealed for Saturday Night Live UKTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy options and select Accept All'.
Privacy...
06/03/2026
Discover how the F1 sound team turned a real Grand Prix into a cinematic experience.
Director Joseph Kosinski and his team worked directly with the Formula On...
06/03/2026
Arvato Systems Joins Initiative D21 e. V.
Shaping digital transformation together
Collaboration in Germanys largest network for the digital society
Membersh...
06/03/2026
The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) is a global initiative dedicated to c...
06/03/2026
We are deeply saddened to hear the very sad news of the death of our friend and colleague, John McHugh. John was an exceptionally talented creative leader who s...
06/03/2026
First exclusive look at RT 's promo as Ireland prepare to take on Czechia
Every Moment, Every Generation
https://youtu.be/2ijo96EadLU
36 years after Geor...
05/03/2026
A little over a year ago, Spotify introduced the quarterly Creator Milestone Awa...
05/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz enables rapid validation of next-gen Wi-Fi 8 networking platform...
05/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz acquires Software Radio Systems (SRS), specialists in software d...
05/03/2026
5. March 2026 Radmila Stoltz
In March, Reimagining DAM 2026 will welcome an extraordinary group of industry leaders who are defining the next era of Digital...
05/03/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
RT Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2...
05/03/2026
Thursday 5 March 2026
Sky News secures ninth News Channel of the Year award as ...
05/03/2026
Thursday 5 March 2026
Sky Sports launches first ever nationwide creator competi...
05/03/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 5, 2026 - At the 2026 NAB Show, Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT)...
05/03/2026
Comscore and Yahoo DSP Partner to Advance CTV Political Advertising with Proximi...
04/03/2026
For many fans, a song's backstory can be just as compelling as the final pro...
04/03/2026
In 2006, Spotify was founded on the belief that technology could bring artists a...
04/03/2026
Spotify is back on the ground for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and we&#...
04/03/2026
Spotify had an energizing week in Sydney, Australia, filled with powerful conver...
04/03/2026
Earlier this year, we launched Directed By, a documentary-style series that pull...
04/03/2026
KT and Rohde & Schwarz to showcase AI-enhanced radio transmission performance In a joint 6G AI proof-of-concept demonstration, the CMX500 one-box tester from ...
04/03/2026
Luxembourg, 3 March 2026 - SES S.A. has today published its 2025 Annual Report, following the announcement of the company's full year financial results for ...
04/03/2026
Luxembourg, March 3, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, along with I...
04/03/2026
04 Mar 2026
VEON Partners with GSMA Innovation Fund to Accelerate Digital Innov...
04/03/2026
04 Mar 2026
VEON's Beeline Uzbekistan and Rakuten Symphony Partner for Open...
04/03/2026
Wednesday 4 March 2026
Sky Sports unveils plans for 2026 Formula 1 coverage
Sky Sports is preparing for one of the most highly anticipated F1 seasons in recen...
03/03/2026
For many, finding time or headspace to pick up a book can feel out of reach, but...
03/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Realtek demonstrate first test solution for Bluetooth LE Hi...
03/03/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
03/03/2026
Luxembourg, 2 March 2026 -- SES S.A. fully consolidates Intelsat from 17 July 2025 and announces financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025
FY25 Pe...
03/03/2026
RT is proud to support a rich and diverse programme of arts and cultural events taking place across Ireland throughout March 2026. This month brings a remarkab...
03/03/2026
03 Mar 2026
VEON and MeetKai Expand Collaboration to Explore Sovereign AI Infra...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Sky releases official trailer for The Miniature Wife, a Sk...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac land first ever live commentary ...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
The Dyers' Caravan Park reopens for a second season after a hit launch on Sky
The Dyers' Caravan Park
JPEG (510KB)
Sky books a ...
03/03/2026
Harmonic's cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform Simplifies Network Operations, Lowers Hardware Dependency and Enables Seamless DOCSIS and Fiber Growth SAN JO...
03/03/2026
Comscore to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial ResultsRESTON, VA, March 3, 2026 Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for plannin...
03/03/2026
Self-taught on iMovie, Hanagami transitioned to Final Cut Pro in 2009, discovering that professional tools could give him full creative control over how his wor...
03/03/2026
RT Media Sales has announced Spry Finance has renewed it's sponsorship of M...
02/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates FR1-FR3 carrier aggregation, advancing 6G readiness Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have reached another pivotal ...
02/03/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, A...
Hack Week has become something of Spotify lore. The beloved Discover Weekly playlist originated as a Hack Week idea, as did the ability to exclude select playlists from your Taste Profile. Now Spotify employees across functions worldwide look forward to the annual week where they put their regular work aside and collaborate on ideas that combine their passions, creativity, and skills. But developing Hack Week into the massive event that thousands of Spotify employees participate in annually is a feat in itself. 
