Spotify expanding in Asia, hiring in Hong Kong and Singapore

Spotify, a popular Swedish music streaming service with over 18M monthly active users, has begun hiring in Asia. The company is seeking a Sales Director and Key Account Manager in Singapore as well as a Commercial Lawyer in Hong Kong.

The job openings follow Spotify’s announcement in 2011 that it would be expanding to Asia, although there’s been not much news since. Ex-Googler Dan Brody is leading Spotify’s operations in the region.

There’s also no word on when the music service would be made available to Asian consumers, despite already serving users in 20 countries, including Australia and New Zealand. It was a similar situation with iTunes, although that changed last year. 

Rampant piracy may be what’s holding Spotify back: In developing markets, it may be hard to convince consumers to pay for music since they won’t have as much disposable income. Other factors could include language differences and difficulties negotiating with record labels.

But the job openings could signal a turn. Spotify’s negotiations with record labels in Asia could be kicking up a notch.

The commercial lawyer in Hong Kong will be tasked with providing legal support in partnerships with telcos, hardware producers, and other distribution partners. The lawyer is also expected to understand “complex licensing agreements” with record labels and publishers.

The job’s location makes sense, since Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan have the leading music industries in Asia, and they’re relatively close to one another.

The lawyer is expected to travel out of Hong Kong often, possess a solid understanding of business culture in Hong Kong and other cities, as well as display fluency in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and basic Japanese.

Meanwhile, the job openings in Singapore suggest that Spotify is ramping up revenue generation in Asia through advertising. The sales roles will involve talking with media agencies and conceptualizing innovating marketing ideas.

Spotify earns significant chunks of money from advertising. It operates on a freemium model, supporting its free service through display advertising. Users can opt for an ad-free experience and more features by paying either USD 4.99 or USD 9.99 a month.