In Conversation: Stephen Dooley

Meadhbh McNutt: Take us through a day as Engineering Manager at Spotify.

Stephen Dooley: I’m living in Hackney on the east side of London. The Spotify offices are in Embankment along The Thames river; so, I split my time between the office and home. Like clockwork, our team meets first thing in the morning for our “standup” meeting. We used to stand around a white board during this meeting but now our team is spread across five different European countries. In the last week, I have been very focused on the individual career development of my teammates which involves one-to-one meetings and coaching. I have also spent a lot of time preparing the 2023 strategy and plan for our team. Every week is different but in general, I focus on developing and coaching people, crafting our technical strategy and building a good environment for our team.  

MM: How did your experience at University of Galway lead you to where you are now?

SD: University of Galway has a really excellent engineering department. Subjects that required memorising or writing large volumes of text were a struggle for me so I decided to stick with maths and science based subjects. I enrolled in the Electronic & Computer Engineering bachelor’s degree and the course provided me with enormous amounts of material and experience that I often draw from in my career. The third year internship program was the real differentiator. After a few months of industry experience the penny finally dropped. I realised I wasn’t very good at software engineering yet (hello Dunning–Kruger) but more importantly, I knew this was the right career path for me.  

MM: How has your experience as a musician informed your role or vice versa?

SD: My approach to work is always from the perspective of the creatives who will use the products we build. Spotify’s mission is to give one million artists the opportunity to live off their art. That’s no small feat. Being a musician and producer myself has allowed me to build empathy for the creatives who rely on Spotify to make a living. I’m currently focused on building better tools for creatives to enable them to make money through the Spotify platform. It’s easy to imagine how these tools will eventually be used by artists (like me) and so, that always informs my decision making from design to build to safety.

MM: How do you think the music industry has changed in the wake of Spotify – for better or worse?

SD: It’s undeniable that Spotify has changed the music industry forever and in my opinion, for the better. I think this change is obvious when you look at the decline in the music industry revenue since the late 90s. Until the wake of Spotify and the streaming model, there was no indication that the music industry would ever recover to the heights seen during the CD boom. 

Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/music-industry-sales/  

As kids, we only had two CDs in our car! The Reservoir Dogs Soundtrack and Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits. This is my earliest and most influential memory of music. CDs and other physical forms have a way of sticking with you for a long time, whereas streaming may be more transient. On-demand music now dominates the music industry. Artists are creating more and more music to compete, and even shorter music – like CAPRISONGS by FKA Twigs.  

MM: Do you think streaming has encouraged listeners to be more experimental or confined in their tastes?

SD: Experimental! Let’s say you have €10 in your pocket. You can choose between buying one album or a month of Spotify access. So, you choose Spotify (good choice) and now you have access to millions of tracks. For you crate-diggers, yes, I know the real experimental stuff can only be found on indie labels or the likes of Bandcamp, but I’m just trying to make a point. 

MM: I have noticed some great new features like Spotify ‘Wrapped’ which recalls a year of listening, or ‘Storyline’ which gives you insights into the making of an album. Which new innovations excite you the most?

SD: I’m most excited about the new monetisation tools we’re launching for creators. Creators in this context are podcasters and music artists. Podcasters can now get paid through ads and listener subscriptions (like Patreon). Musicians can now sell merchandise directly through Spotify. We’re launching our own ticketing service too. The reason I’m excited about this is because creators have insights about where fans are based and what their tastes are. Selling merch and tickets to shows becomes much easier and rewarding when you’re selling directly to your biggest fans.  

MM: Who are your main influences; who is on your ‘Wrapped’ playlist?

SD: (1) Bicep. My favourite discography of electronic music; their live show is the best I’ve seen.  

(2) Jon Hopkins. Singularity is an unbelievable body of work. Very few modern day electronic producers are making albums, so I have massive respect for Jon Hopkins and the work that went into this. 

(3) Four Tet. His tracks were once considered experimental and are now becoming mainstream. For that, I think he’s shaped the electronic music scene in a major way. He also recently fought and won a court case against his former record label, Domino Records to liberate himself from a contract he signed over 20 years ago (it predated the streaming era). I think he’s set some great precedent for emerging artists who are willing to sign unbounded record deals. 

(4) Johnny Cash. When I was trying to figure out how to write a song as a kid, I would learn Johnny Cash tunes and play them over and over.  

MM: What has been your most memorable moment with Delac so far?

SD: Playing at Éalú Le Grá Festival this year. As a Galway man myself, it was such a great feeling to play my first festival and first overseas show in Galway. I’ve been based in London for five years, so it was really special.  

MM: What advice would you offer to current students at University of Galway?

SD: Enjoy yourself and make real friends. Life is too serious; don’t feel like you need to have it all figured out. 

MM: What advice would you give to emerging musicians striving to build an income?

SD: I think I can break this down into four distinct pieces of advice, each of which have carried me through the good times and the uncertain times.

(1) The music is the most important thing. If you’re not enjoying it any more, change something. 

(2) Be patient. The industry might not move as quickly as you would like; don’t take it personally.

(3) Treat it like a business. The sooner you accept that it’s a business like any other, the better.  

(4) Make good decisions, not perfect ones. This counts for everything from finishing a new track, to preparing for a live show, to creating merch. Put music first and always. As long as the music is flowing, the buzz and network around you will grow. After that, treat it like a business. 

MM: What’s next for Delac?

SD: We’re releasing a new four-track EP in 2023. After that we’re going to play some live shows, including a few familiar festivals in Ireland. Exciting times ahead… 

Visit Delac’s website or listen on Spotify 

Follow Delac @DelacMusic on Instagram