Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s drama series ‘The Playlist’ revolves around the true story of Spotify, one of the most renowned music streaming platforms. The show follows co-founder of the company Daniel Ek’s efforts to build the streaming platform from scratch with the help of his business partner Martin Lorentzon, legal head Petra Hansson, and CTO Andreas Ehn.
Spotify marked its presence in the Nordic music industry when a Sony executive named Per Sundin took interest in it. By joining hands with the Universal Music Group, Sundin extends his support to Daniel’s company. Intrigued by the role Sundin plays in the emergence of Spotify as one of the leading global audio streaming platforms, we have dived into his present life. Here’s everything you need to know about the same!
Who is Per Sundin?
When Daniel Ek was developing Spotify, Per Sundin was the Managing Director of Sony Music Entertainment, who built the company’s prestige in the Nordics. At the time, Sundin was waging a war against piracy, which resulted in a massive loss in the revenue of record labels. Sundin even had to lay off several of his employees as an aftermath of the growth of pirated music.
A few months before Spotify launched, Sundin left Sony to join Universal Music Group as the President of the company’s Nordic branch while also serving as the Managing Director of Universal Music Sweden. In 2008, Sundin became the first label executive from the music industry to partner with Spotify. When the music industry doubted the potential of the streaming platform, Sundin even defended the company.
During a summit of Universal Music Group’s executives in 2014, Sundin was vocal about the relevance of Spotify. “Look at the data! We’re converting from free to premium. We’ve killed off piracy. This [Spotify] is the future, and you can’t stop it,” the executive said in the summit, as per ‘Spotify Untold,’ the source material of the show. Sundin is also the executive who signed the late Swedish DJ Avicii when he was known by his original name Tim Bergling.
Per Sundin is Serving as the CEO of Pophouse Entertainment Today
Per Sundin served as the President of Universal Music Nordic Region and Managing Director of Universal Music Sweden until September 2019, serving the company in the aforementioned positions for a long eleven and a half years. He then joined Pophouse Entertainment, where he is currently working as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. At Pophouse, Sundin joined ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, and the company focuses on creating, acquiring, and developing brands within the music industry.
Sundin’s company frequently collaborates with ABBA and Swedish House Mafia and possesses the master recordings and publishing of the late Avicii’s music. Although Sundin left two significant Universal Music Group positions to join Pophouse, he didn’t depart from the company altogether. He continued to serve the company as the Non-Executive Chairman of Universal Music Nordic Region.
“I’m profoundly proud and thankful to be able to continue my working relationship with Frank Briegmann and the excellent UMG Nordics family as I step into my new role, and for the opportunity to embark on a new endeavor in the entertainment business as CEO for Pop House Group,” Sundin shared in a statement at the time.
As per sources, Sundin currently lives in Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden. He was married to Jenny Fant Sundin for 28 years. Sundin announced the couple’s separation in July 2022. He and Jenny are the parents of three kids and a dog named Khal Drogo. Sundin is also a board member of the Tim Bergling Foundation, which advocates for the recognition of suicide as a global health emergency while trying to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health concerns.
Read More: Where is Ex-Spotify Legal Head Petra Hansson Now?
