Asia-Pacific Power List 2023: Jan-Paul Jeffrey, Spotify

Jan-Paul Jeffrey

Head of marketing, SEA 
Spotify
Member since 2022

Spotify’s global success story continues to captivate, with Q1 2023 earnings exceeding all expectations and KPIs. Monthly active users grew by 22% year-over-year to 515 million, with strength in both developed and developing markets and nearly all age groups. Premium subscribers expanded by 15% year-over-year to 210 million, with outperformance across all regions, not just America and Europe. The company netted a total 14% revenue growth amassing US$ 3.36 billion, led by subscriber gains.

Despite the seemingly effortless success of the brand, Jeffrey’s execution of campaigns leveraging data, creativity, innovation and personalised gamification strategies have made Southeast Asia (SEA) a prominent growth engine for the brand. Indonesia and the Philippines get regular shoutouts in quarterly earnings calls. In fact, in the Q4 earnings report, CEO Daniel EK called out the SEA region as what he was most proud of for the year.

One of Jeffrey’s many initiatives has been to enable better user experience by helping creators connect with their fans more easily. He’s implemented several innovative and award-winning campaigns, the most recent being the "Sing It Right with Spotify Lyrics" campaign, which won bronze in the social and Influencer category at the Spikes Asia 2023 Awards.

This campaign was based on a common behavioural truth that most people don't know the lyrics to their favourite songs. To end misheard lyrics, Jeffrey and his team launched a new feature that pranked the artists themselves into singing their songs incorrectly.

This sparked a trend amongst fans and generated millions of views, shares, and likes across social media. The campaign received an overwhelming response from fans, which Jeffrey believes is a testament to the creativity, innovation, ad hard work of everyone involved.

Another successful campaign that Jeffrey spearheaded was the "Magic of Music" campaign, which featured seven films revolving around the central theme that the right soundtrack can help navigate tricky situations. These creatives were produced with a local slice of life in mind, with moments selected based on where background music wins today.

To capitalise on Gen Z fandom, surprise 'Easter egg' moments with local music artists were weaved in, driving social virality and buzz. The campaign was a simple universal truth that music can help turn mundane, frustrating, and ordinary situations into something magical.

Jeffrey has also played a vital role in Spotify's "Wrapped" campaign, a bespoke audio personality curation that has become an annual social conversation starter. In 2022, new features, such as Audio Day, an interactive story that gives users a peek into how their music taste evolves throughout the day, and the ability to share Wrapped cards on Instagram and Facebook, along with custom Wrapped-themed GIFs, were added. Spotify also brought Wrapped Playgrounds to Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines and expanded the Your Artist Messages feature to include messages from more than 40,000 artists.

Jeffrey has been a driving force behind Spotify's commitment to providing a platform for local artists to showcase their music and reach their audience. In the past year, there has been a surge in streams of local music in the Philippines by almost 50%, indicating the nation's growing appreciation for homegrown talent. Jeffrey is thrilled to have played a part in this flourishing music scene and looks forward to continuing to support and amplify the voices of local artists across the Philippines and beyond.

Jeffrey's innovative and award-winning campaigns, along with his commitment to supporting and amplifying local artists, have been key factors in Spotify's regional success. As one of the top marketers in the region, his contributions to Spotify are worth singing about.