Spotify co-founder, CEO Daniel Ek is stepping down. Here's what we know.

• Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek is stepping down, transitioning to executive chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
• Co-Presidents Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström will take over as co-CEOS of the streaming service.
• Ek co-founded Spotify with Martin Lorentzon in 2006.

Two decades after founding the world's most popular streaming service, Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek is stepping down.

Ek announced on Tuesday, Sept. 30 that he is stepping down as CEO, transitioning into a role as executive chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Co-Presidents Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström will take over as co-CEOS, reporting directly to Ek, according to a Spotify news release.

In his letter, Ek said little will change for Spotify staff.

"What changes is my time and focus," Ek wrote. "As executive chairman, I will spend more of my time on the long arc: Strategy, capital allocation, regulatory efforts and the calls that will shape the next decade for Spotify."

The new leadership style that Ek, Söderström and Norström will hold is of a European chairman setup, Ek explained in a letter sent to Spotify staff. In this two-tiered organization, an executive chairman is to oversee the CEO's work for greater accountability. Rather than a U.S. setup, where an executive chairman is more of a ceremonial role, Ek will continue to be involved in Spotify's business practices, he said during a livestream on Sept. 30. Ek compared his transition to that of a sports player to coach.

Ek co-founded Spotify in 2006 alongside Martin Lorentzon in Stockholm, Sweden. The streaming service became available to the public in 2008.

How will Spotify change under the new leadership?

During the Sept. 30 livestream, Ek, Söderström and Norström said that they don't have any updates for how the service will change. However, Ek did express his interest in expanding Spotify into new markets.

Though nearly 700 million people stream music on Spotify, according to the streaming service's website, there are still many areas of the world that aren't used to consuming music through this method, Ek said during the livestream. In his new role, Ek said he would like to expand this reach to markets in countries like Asia and Africa.

The leadership trio also stressed the importance for Spotify to continuing to evolve with artificial intelligence. They didn't expand on how the service will implement more AI moving forward.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].