Spotify Promotes Joe Hadley to VP of Global Music Content and Partnerships, Names J.J. Italiano Head of Editorial

Spotify has promoted Joe Hadley to vice president of global music content and partnerships, giving him oversight of both the music editorial and partnerships teams, according to Billboard.

The company also named J.J. Italiano head of editorial, a role that covers global music curation, North American editorial and Spotify's overall editorial strategy, Billboard reported on 28 August 2026.

The appointments fill a gap left by Sullina Ong, Spotify's former global head of editorial, who departed to join U2's management team. Charlie Hellman, Spotify's senior vice president and global head of music, said in a statement that the human touch of editorial remains central to the platform's approach — a notable stance for a company simultaneously investing in AI-generated music tools.

Hadley's rise through Spotify's ranks has been steady. He served as global head of artist and audience partnerships in March 2023, according to Spotify's newsroom, then as global head of music partnerships and audience by January 2025, when he discussed the company's donations to MusiCares and FireAid in response to the Los Angeles wildfires. By May 2025, his title was global head of artist partnerships, per Spotify's newsroom. He appeared at Spotify's 2026 Investor Day in May alongside Rene Volker, head of live events, and was profiled in June by HITS Daily Double, where he discussed video, editorial and in-real-life initiatives — the in-person events and experiences Spotify has been building beyond the app.

The leadership reshuffle comes during a period of structural change at the top of Spotify. Founder Daniel Ek moved from CEO to executive chairman last September, with Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström stepping in as co-CEOs reporting to Ek.

The new editorial leadership will also contend with Spotify's accelerating push into AI. On 11 August, the company announced plans to label AI-created artists on its platform with an "AI Persona" badge, and artists carrying that label will be excluded from personalised recommendations — the algorithmic playlists that drive much of listener discovery on the service. In April, at its Investor Day, Spotify confirmed a licensing deal with Universal Music Group for AI remixes. On 4 August, Merlin — a digital music licensing organisation that represents thousands of independent labels — signed its own agreement with Spotify covering the same AI remixing tool.

Spotify also used its Investor Day to announce Spotify Reserved, a ticketing service in partnership with Live Nation that gives fans a chance to purchase tickets to see their favourite artists perform live.

For listeners, Hadley's promotion and Italiano's appointment mean the people shaping what shows up in playlists and discovery feeds have shifted. For the music industry, the signal is that Spotify wants editorial judgement — the decisions made by humans about what to programme — sitting alongside its AI ambitions, not being quietly replaced by them.