“Spotify is the most downloaded audio streaming app in Pakistan”

SOPHIA KHAN: What does your role as marketing manager at Spotify entail?

TALHA HASHIM: I joined Spotify in 2021 as a marketing manager for the South Asia region, overseeing Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Later, my responsibilities expanded to include the UAE. My role focuses on encouraging brand awareness and product education through promotional strategies, advertising campaigns, activations and strategic marketing partnerships. I collaborate with different teams on initiatives that support artists, promote new releases and launch music programmes.

SK: What other departments exist within Spotify?

TH: The core areas are music, marketing and growth. The music team has two branches. One deals with the editorial which involves the curation of music and requires a certain level of cultural expertise. The other relates to the artists and partnerships with labels; these people work directly with artists. We have a growth team that prioritises increasing subscription rates and they are supported by the strategy and operations departments.

SK: How would you chart Spotify’s growth in Pakistan?

TH: Although Spotify entered the market without a launch campaign, it witnessed tremendous brand love, with people latching on to the platform immediately, and today Spotify is the most downloaded audio streaming app in Pakistan. In a short span of time, Spotify has become the top choice for music lovers in Pakistan. Our on-ground events, like the Pakka Hit Hai gigs, the Radar Festival and the House of Icons exhibition, have also been extremely well received.

SK: Spotify is one of the few music platforms that offers music free in addition to premium plans; why is that?

TH: We believe music should be accessible to everyone, which is why the ad-supported free plan exists. People who subscribe to our premium plans have access to extended features and better audio quality. The premium plans are geared towards music lovers who want to enjoy an undisturbed experience and the pricing is set at very affordable rates to encourage music consumption across all segments.

SK: How does Spotify support local artists?

TH: We are big on artist advocacy and do our best to extend the support of our platform when artists require it. Our custom platform, Spotify for Artists, provides artists with a plethora of tools, such as countdown pages and pre-save features that help build anticipation. Additionally, we shoot content with them that we promote on our social media channels to boost engagement.

SK: How can Spotify help artists who have little to no online presence but want to get their music out there?

TH: Ever since Spotify began gaining traction in the local market, we have been approached by smaller artists online and via on-ground events with queries and requests. We have a system in place that directs them to our music team, who supply them with the guidance they require, especially regarding music distribution and using Spotify for Artists.

SK: Is Spotify available in Urdu and other local languages for users in Pakistan?

TH: As of right now, the application is accessible in both Urdu and English. However, through our research, we have discovered that people tend to prefer the English interface as the Urdu script tends to become complicated on screen. However, the Spotify Wrapped experience for 2024 will be available in Punjabi for users.

SK: How does Spotify aid in music discovery, which is often an integral part of a music lover’s journey?

TH: When you join the platform, Spotify assesses the preferences you enter and your early user experience is modelled on those preferences. However, over time, the algorithm gains more insight through your searches or inclination towards a particular genre through tailored playlists like the Daily Mixes and Daylist. Another element of music discovery is through social media applications, where the seamless integration of Spotify with Instagram and TikTok is extremely beneficial. Songs tagged in posts, videos and stories automatically link to the Spotify app, identifying the track, thereby increasing the chances of visibility by taking the grunt work out of hunting for a particular song. Spotify has more than 600 million users across the world and in that vein, 600 million iterations of it exist, as no two Spotify feeds are the same.

SK: What was the thought process behind the House of Icons exhibition?

TH: The Icon programme was a kind of deep dive into the music of iconic legendary artists, as often we get enmeshed in new releases as a music streaming platform. This programme is about paying homage to these icons and acknowledging the cultural breadth of Pakistani music, which is so interwoven with our heritage. From a user standpoint, the Icon playlist is a conduit for discovering local legends through a modern platform that bridges the gap between the two. We decided to accompany the launch with an on-ground activation at TDF Ghar, a location that holds a great deal of historical value and serves as an accessible community space. For the exhibition, we allocated rooms to represent different eras of Pakistani music. The exhibit included an installation of traditional instruments, physical copies of CDs and cassettes released by artists over the years, walls wrapped in timelines and a textual history of Pakistani artists. This was the first time that the Icon programme of any country was launched in this way. It was a completely homegrown initiative spotlighting Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as the first icon in this series.

SK: Please explain the process of curating a playlist. What factors are considered and why?

TH: A.S.L.I is currently one of our hottest playlists and it is essentially a response to the burgeoning hip-hop culture in Pakistan, which is mostly youth-driven. After identifying the increased interest in hip-hop, we wanted to provide an opportunity for audiences to easily discover underground and mainstream Pakistani hip-hop tracks.

SK: What are some of the most popular playlists in Pakistan?

TH: In 2024, Hot Hits Pakistan has reigned as the most streamed playlist of the year, closely followed by Hot Hits Punjabi. Since we live in Pakistan and weddings are central to our culture, Shaadi Hits came in at third place. Interestingly, Pakka Hit Hai was the most listened-to playlist by users outside Pakistan, which reaffirms my belief that music surpasses borders!

SK: What makes Spotify Wrapped so special?

TH: Spotify Wrapped is one of our most popular features; it exists as an expression of gratitude to our users while also serving as a celebration of artists and their creativity. It started out as a moment of reflection on music and has graduated to become a cultural phenomenon and taken on a life of its own. The best part is that it generates a lot of organic excitement, which translates to engagement, as people love sharing their Wrapped experiences for the world to see. This year’s Wrapped is extra special as we are celebrating its 10th anniversary.