Values Week: Star Program Members Reunite

[Nikola]

Hey everyone,

This week here in the Community and Spotify Stars Program, we’re celebrating something called Values Week! 

In 2021, together with our awesome Stars we created a set of values that we believe speak to the core of the program! If you need a refresher on the Stars Program before we go any further, Stars are users who volunteer by contributing to the Community to gain advanced permissions, access to private forums, as well as product research and testing opportunities!

This year, while celebrating our Star Program’s values and everything that makes the Stars so fantastic, we thought it would be very cool to do something different. In this blog we’re going to introduce (or should we say re-introduce) you to some old Community and Star Program faces!

We’ve been chatting to Spotifier’s who used to be an integral part of the Community program, as well as Stars who’s journeys have now taken them on a brand new path, to find out how the Star Program and Community left a lasting impression on them.

First up, a big warm welcome back to the awesome Legend Star Huib - @Hubo.

Here’s what Huib had to say:

“My time in the Spotify Star Program was loads of fun! I was part of the program for about six years (from 2016-2022) and met so many lovely people, whom I still keep in touch with today.

One of my best memories is Star Jam, in which a handful of Stars flew to the Spotify HQ in Stockholm, got to know the community team, as well as the teams backstage, and met the CEO while doing lots of fun activities and workshops!

The Star Program helped me develop skills that I currently use in my daily life and work, particularly in communication and teamwork. The feedback I received during the program was extremely valuable, and it helped me to further develop myself. I enjoy helping people, and this program provided me with a great opportunity to contribute. Currently, I work in the FinTech industry in a support-related team, where I can apply many of the skills I learned through the Star Program.”

Next up, the wonderful Legend Star @Marco! Marco’s name was pretty famous around here in the program’s early days, and here’s why:

“I’ve been active in the Stars program from 2013 until 2019. During those years, I was deeply involved in the Ideas Exchange. Plowing through thousands of ideas, always striving to keep the Ideas Exchange as organized and duplicate-free as possible. The goal was to enable every Spotify enthusiast to easily find and add their voices to ideas that they are passionate about and eventually see those ideas getting implemented. I’m really glad that the Ideas Exchange is still going strong!

Fast forward to today, and my life has changed quite a bit. With two adorable kids keeping me on my toes, I've traded in late-night jam sessions for bedtime lullabies. But the spirit of helping others and working with software stayed with me, as I now work as an Academy Manager for a software company, crafting and managing learning paths for our customers and employees.

One of my all-time favorite memories from the program were the Rock Star Jam events. Once a year, the Top 10 Community contributors from all over the world gather to meet with the Spotify Community Team and visit the headquarters in Stockholm and New York. We had tons of fun, got inspired, and felt like one big family of music fans while nerding out to Spotify.

Looking back, the program has had a lasting impact on my life. I’ve met so many great people, witnessed what it looks like to be truly passionate and discovered the joy of helping others. Fun fact: As fate would have it, I also took on the role as ideas guardian for my company for a couple of years, much like my role in the Spotify Community forum. It's safe to say that my time as a Star left an unforgettable mark on my life's soundtrack.

It's been an incredible ride filled with fantastic tunes, amazing people, and a passion for helping others that continues to shape my life. Until next time, keep the music playing!”

On board for a trip down memory lane we also have Legend Star Ethan - @EthanS1. Here’s what he had to say about his experience in the program:

Hey Stars! Hello again to those I know and nice to meet you to all of you I haven't met. I'm Ethan. I used to be part of the Twitter & Community Stars - for those who I haven't met ask some of the older stars - what's the question of the day? 

I became a Star in 2017 and later left to pursue some new adventures. I'm now part of the Alexa Marketing Team over at Amazon (still working with Spotify in-fact to develop and build our strategies for Alexa Devices - fun fact I can now troubleshoot an Echo in the same speed as Spotify, so feel free to shout if you need anything. I truly miss the team and hopefully will see you at some point soon - few exciting things going on right now! 😉.  

I had an absolute blast, there's so many folks to name but I absolutely loved a lot of moments from when we all came together during COVID to make sure everyone was okay and doing well through to the amazing off-topic conversations that we'd have amongst ourselves with our question of the day. You'll probably hear from @Hubo (Huib) and we've kept in touch since the Star Program and continue to regularly catch up as well as some of the other stars (Billy, Noah). 

As always, keep doing what you're doing - you're supporting so many Spotify customers daily who gain a lot from your hard work - and it doesn't go unnoticed!! Happy Values Week 🌟🌠

Finally, say a big hello to Meredith - @meahtenoha, who used to run things around here!

“My journey with the Spotify Community started way back in Feb 2012 when we first decided we would be launching a Spotify forum! In April 2014 I took on the role of Local Community Manager and I ran the Star Program until March 2018 when Melody took over the reins. 

So many great memories–getting to tell the Stars we were launching the annual Jam event, finally getting to host the Jam in New York City, countless ideas implemented and getting the chance to meet folks from around the world. I learned so much from both the Stars and the Community team and Moderators. Everyone was so passionate and gave such honest heartfelt feedback and it was great when we were able to make their ideas come to life both directly into the Community or in the Spotify app. That early passion from that group is the reason the Spotify Community has been so great for 11+ years.

In 2019 I left the Community team to join Studios as a senior Project Manager working with all things podcasts. Now I’m a Global Music Program Manager – helping run large cross-functional projects across the teams within Music. 

Thanks for letting us share our memories in this reunion blog. Perhaps I’ll get to say hello at the next Jam.”

And there you have it folks! It seems the Star Program has been a big inspiration and boost for everyone, that took part in it. But don't take our word for it - read more about it HERE and join the sparkle ranks! 🌟