Choi Soo-yeon (center), CEO of Naver, and Alex Norstrom (right) and Gustav Soderstrom (left), co-CEOs of Spotify, pose for a photo at a joint roundtable at the Spotify headquarters in Stockholm. (Naver)
Choi Soo-yeon (center), CEO of Naver, and Alex Norstrom (right) and Gustav Soderstrom (left), co-CEOs of Spotify, pose for a photo at a joint roundtable at the Spotify headquarters in Stockholm. (Naver)

Naver and Spotify held a two-day roundtable in Stockholm this week to review progress in their strategic partnership and explore deeper collaboration in Korea.

The meeting, held at Spotify’s headquarters on Tuesday and Wednesday, was attended by Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon and Spotify Co-CEOs Alex Norstrom and Gustav Soderstrom, along with senior executives from both companies.

The companies highlighted early results from their tie-up, including the integration of Spotify into Naver Plus Membership and in-car navigation services that enable Spotify audio access.

They pointed in particular to traction among younger users. Naver said new Generation Z signups for its membership rose 17 percent month-on-month in December following the partnership launch. Although not specified, Gen Z typically refers to those born between 1997 and 2012.

Building on this momentum, the two sides plan to expand cooperation across search, marketing and content. As of last week, users can also log into Spotify using their Naver credentials, improving accessibility and user experience.

“We reaffirmed our shared vision of supporting creators and enhancing user experience,” Choi said, adding that the partnership will broaden how users discover and engage with music and audio content.

Norstrom described Korea as a key market combining local creativity with global reach, saying the partnership brings together Spotify’s global platform and Naver’s strong domestic ecosystem.

Soderstrom added that the collaboration is evolving beyond simple integration toward a longer-term alignment of priorities and platform development.


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