Music Tech News: Spotify, Vocana, Musixmatch, Music Tectonics
In the latest music tech news, Spotify founder Daniel Ek is stepping down as CEO. As of Jan. 1, 2026, he will “transition” to the role of executive chairman.
Gustav Söderström, current co-president and chief product and technology officer, and Alex Norström, co-president and chief business officer, will become Spotify co-CEOs. Both will still report to Ek and now also serve on the company’s board of directors.
More Music Tech News
• Vocana, the social streaming platform for independent music, has partnered with MassiveMusic (formerly 7digital and now part of the Songtradr) to expand to 33.5 million tracks.
MassiveMusic will power Vocana’s independent artist-only catalog and payout model that directly connects how artists get paid to what fans listen to. (If you pay $10 and spend 60% of your time listening to Artist A, 30% to Artist B, and 10% to Artist C, then your $10 gets broken down as $6 to A, $3 to B, and $1 to C,)
The partnership builds on deals Vocana has already inked with CD Baby and Distrokid.
• Musixmatch has launched Musixmatch Pro’s Animated Artwork. The tool enables instantly AI generation of dynamic motion song and album covers optimized for Apple Music Album Motion and Tidal.
Musixmatch partnered with Runway Gen-4 to intelligently analyze album covers and craft custom animation prompts that instantly create engaging motion artwork.
• The Music Tectonics Music Tech Startup Contest jury selected for finalists for 2025.
- Music League: “DISCOVER MUSIC. COMPETE TO WIN. Blending music discovery and creative competition, Music League helps you discover new music, share your favorites, and play against your friends.”
- Plates: “Music marketing is about to get easier.
- Roxxem: “Engage Your Students With Authentic Music, Supercharge student learning with song-based lessons and games. Use in class or at home.”
- Sesh: “Own, grow, and monetize your fanbase with sesh, The only all-in-one companion that runs your fan community on autopilot while you focus on your music.”
The finalists will pitch and winner announced at Music Techtonics 2025 in Santa Monica, California November 4-6, 2025. Learn more and get tickets here.
Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot, Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of Skyline Artists.
