Daniel Ek

Daniel Ek

Founder & CEO of Spotify

Swedish entrepreneur who revolutionized music streaming. Reads across business strategy, decision-making, and cultural history.

CEOs

Daniel Ek founded Spotify in 2006, transforming how billions access music through a legal streaming platform. His company went public in 2018 and became one of the world's largest music services. Ek is known for his focus on product innovation and building sustainable business models in the digital entertainment space.

13 Books Recommended by Daniel Ek

Ranked by popularity across all reading lists on this site

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#2

by

19 people recommended

It was fascinating to talk to [the author] about how this book came to be such a hitβ€”he never backed down, and he allowed people to read it for free in order to then boost sales.

Also recommended by: Aubrey Marcus, Big Sean, Brene Brown, Andy Frisella, Patrick Bet David, Eric Ripert, Gabby Reece, Garry Tan, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Lebron James, Lewis Howes, Lisa Ling, Ryan Flaherty, Ryan Shea, Tony Robbins, Will Smith, Derek Sivers

Poor Charlie’s Almanack book cover
#3

Poor Charlie’s Almanack

by Charlie Munger

15 people recommended

I’ve been enjoying Charlie Munger’s speeches online for years; this is the ultimate collection of the best of them.

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Also recommended by: Naval Ravikant, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Drew Houston, John Collison, Marc Andreessen, Patrick Collison, Courtland Allen, Patrick Bet David, Ramit Sethi, Shane Parrish, Tai Lopez, Tim Ferriss, Derek Sivers

Guns, Germs, and Steel book cover
#4

Guns, Germs, and Steel

by Jared Diamond Ph.D.

14 people recommended

A brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning book about how the modern world was formed, analyzing how societies developed differently on different continents.

Also recommended by: Eric Jorgenson, Bill Gates, Jamie Dimon, Charlie Munger, James Clear, Jesse Williams, Joe Rogan, Margaret Atwood, Mark Manson, Patrick Arnold, Simon Sinek, Stewart Brand, Derek Sivers

Good to Great book cover
#5

Good to Great

by Jim Collins

12 people recommended

A really interesting book.

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Also recommended by: Sam Ovens, Jeff Bezos, Brian Armstrong, Ev Williams, John Doerr, Dave Ramsey, Frank Blake, Jason Calacanis, Max Levchin, Michael Hyatt, Tracy Dinunzio

7 Powers book cover
#6

7 Powers

by Hamilton Helmer

6 people recommended

At Spotify the 7 Powers are widely used as we discuss new initiatives.

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Also recommended by: Peter Thiel, Patrick Collison, Reed Hastings, Keith Rabois, Ryan Petersen

Black Box Thinking book cover
#7

Black Box Thinking

by Matthew Syed

2 people recommended

Since reading this book, I’ve literally incorporated this approach to problem-solving into every day.

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Also recommended by: Richard Branson

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#8

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2 people recommended

Amazing book, amazing cause.

Also recommended by: Ellen Degeneres

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#9

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Still the essential biography of the music industry.

Leading book cover
#10

Leading

by Alex Ferguson

[The author] grew Manchester United into one of the best known brands today, and that’s what fascinates me about him.

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Raising Girls book cover
#11

Raising Girls

by Steve Biddulph

Has been super helpful to me in setting out a clear map of girls' developmental stages and how we can make sure we don’t sell out the potential or uniqueness of our daughters.

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The Minefield Girl book cover
#12

The Minefield Girl

by Sofia Ek

About [the author's] experiences being a young Western woman living and doing business in a dictatorship, and it’s a story of love and hustle in a land where nothing is what it appears to be.

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#13

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A great history of reggae music and the influences it has on other genres.