Two of Spotify’s Global Cultures curators have left the company

Spotify has had two more departures from its team, both involved in the programming and curation teams. Tunde Ogundipe, head of African music and leader for Jamaican music, and Humanshu Suri, senior editor and Indian music expert, have left the streaming service.

Both were involved in the team that developed Spotify’s Global Cultures program. The effort to highlight more than the western pop and rap that dominates most charts launched in September 2018. However, Rolling Stone cited sources who said Spotify had disbanded that team.

“We’re investing in growing our global cultures initiative by expanding from a small team working out of New York to a larger, region-specific editorial team of experts,” a Spotify rep told Rolling Stone. “Having numerous people on the ground across many markets will ensure that Spotify is fully immersed in the local music and cultures represented on our platform.”

Curators and editors have been heavily impacted by the personnel changes that have been a dime a dozen at Spotify over the past year. Diminishing its focus on highlighting specific international music trends may not serve Spotify well. Latin music subgenres have been soaring in popularity and K-pop continues to be a global phenomenon with legions of fans. With so many people willing to explore more than the music from their home countries, curious listeners may wind up seeking other sources of global music discovery.

Anna Washenko