Spotify nabs BBC Radio 1’s Austin Daboh for UK music promotion
Spotify have just hired Austin Daboh who joins their UK team from BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra alongside other BBC Radio 1 talent poached by the music streaming service.
Austin Daboh is leaving his job as Radio 1Xtra’s music manager to become Spotify’s senior editor for UK content programming. He joins the team of George Ergatoudis, who left his role at BBC Radio 1 earlier this year to take the role as UK head of content programming at the world’s largest streaming service Spotify.
Daboh made the announcement via his Twitter on Friday, tweeting: “The secret is out – happy to announce I’ll be joining Spotify as Senior Editor, Content Programming UK.” Daboh and Ergatoudis are the confirmed among other rumoured BBC Radio, existing and former, executives joining Spotify for curation and promotion of UK talent. Dexter Batson, Rob Khan, and Sara Sesardic are in the pipeline.
Speaking to Music Week, Daboh said: “I’ve had an amazing journey at BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, and will miss the team greatly. Spotify is the future of music consumption and I’m excited to be joining as a senior editor – I look forward to working with my new colleagues in breaking emerging acts and helping music lovers in the UK (and globally) discover new sounds.”
The UK content programming team will use their in-depth knowledge of the UK music industry to promote UK music on Spotify’s massive streaming platform. Daboh recently spoke passionately to a panel at MPA AGM about Grime, the UK’s leading hip-hop genre that roots deeply in British culture and is breaking to the forefront of the UK’s scene as a unique genre.
Daboh said to the panel: “Grime is a DIY, flexible genre in its truest form. You need the freedom to release and market the way the artist wants. Major labels do great things and create hit records, but grime is different to most genres.”
There isn’t an officially released date for Daboh starting at Spotify yet but it’s rumoured to likely be the end of August.