Gustav Söderström, one of Spotify’s new CEOs, has been at the helm of the Swedish streaming giant for a few months. But it’s already making its mark with a flurry of features designed to give users more control over how they experience music. His latest move, unveiled on stage at this year’s SXSW yesterday (March 13), allows listeners to customize Spotify’s interpretation to their liking.
Users will soon be able to update and adjust their Taste Profile, an algorithmic summary of their preferences that shapes their home page, curated playlists and experiences like Spotify Wrapped. They can then request more or less of a certain genre, artist or “vibe,” which directs how the recommendation engine responds.
“Taste is not a reality. It’s a choice,” Söderström said while speaking at SXSW.
Söderström and fellow CEO Alex Norström took over the Stockholm company in January, after longtime CEO Daniel Ek stepped down at the end of 2025 to become Spotify’s executive chairman. Both are veterans: Söderström has been with Spotify for 17 years and Noström for 15.
The two previously served as co-presidents, with Söderström serving as chief product and technology officer and Norström as chief business officer. They will focus on product and business respectively, but say they plan to harmonize their work rather than run separate organizations with separate teams and meetings.
Even before he became co-CEO, Söderström had raised the level of Spotify’s product, the company introduced 50 new features and updates last year. Recent launches include the Suggested Playlist tool, launched in January, which creates customized playlists based on user input and listening history, and Spotify DJ, an interactive AI assistant that was first released in 2023.
The updated taste profile builds on this personalization. Users will be able to see how Spotify “reads” their listening habits—for example, noting that they’ve been leaning more toward alternative 90s rock or hip-hop—and nudge the program in a new direction. Typing an answer like “I want to start listening to Justin Bieber” will push your favorite to all their recommendations.
Personalization is at the heart of Spotify’s broader strategy to dominate not only music, but also podcasts and audiobooks. The company has expanded its video podcast offering by partnering with platforms like Netflix and is doubling down on its audiobook while moving into physical book sales. Spotify now has 751 million active users and counts about 3.5 percent of the world’s population as subscribers, and aims to increase that number to 10 percent or even 15 percent.
The new Taste Profile features will be rolled out to Premium listeners in New Zealand in the coming weeks before being rolled out more widely. Users can log in to fine-tune their preferences—or continue listening as they always do.
