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> Also I suspect that $150k as the mean TC of those being let go is low. Probably not low. It's an enormous salary for a developer outside of the Valley and Sp

> Also I suspect that $150k as the mean TC of those being let go is low. Probably not low. It's an enormous salary for a developer outside of the Valley and Spotify has plenty of employees which are not in the USA.

phamilton4 4y ago
TBH I think the average Sr. Developer is ~130k in the US. Of course this varies so much depending on the role and company.
- CydeWeys 4y ago
  Spotify pays significantly above the average, though. Not as high as the top-tier FANGs, but still high.
- bumby 4y ago
  The average software developer (not sure that it's pertinent to constrain it to "senior" devs) is $120k in the US. In San Francisco, the median is $161k [1] [1] https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1252.00 https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1252.00
CydeWeys 4y ago
Levels.fyi supports me at least: https://www.levels.fyi/companies/spotify/salaries https://www.levels.fyi/companies/spotify/salaries
- phamilton4 4y ago
  I commented above, whether the salary is 150k, 250k, 500k... the impact doesn't change 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.33%. Not sure it really matters. Again I'm not defending lazy employees or saying employers are bad for doing this. I feel there is a hidden cost of layoffs from my own experience of being at a company doing round after round of layoffs.
  - CydeWeys 4y ago
    Agreed it doesn't matter much in this case, but it is a common misconception that employees don't cost nearly as much to employers as they actually do, so I wanted to step in and correct that.
pc86 4y ago
I applied for an "entry-level" EM role with Spotify in 2021 and the base was 260-275, plus a generous bonus target and stock. TC would have been pushing $400k, for a fully remote USCAN-based role. I say that strictly as a calibration point - it's unlikely engineers are pushing half a million (maybe at the Staff+ level) but there's also not likely any engineers before $150k TC. I'd expect even mid-levels to be in the $200-225 ballpark but could be wrong. I think $150k median is probably on the lower side of correct, but not enough to meaningfully impact any of the numbers anyone is discussing here. It's close enough.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  The stock price has more then halved since 2021, and based on their business model and history of profit, as an employee, I would not value the stock portion of compensation much. As far as I can tell, Apple/Google/Amazon will always provide the ceiling price for how much Spotify can charge its customers, hence capping revenue, and the 3 record labels will always extract just enough to keep Spotify operating. In a similar situation to Netflix, Spotify’s play would have to be to create their own content to lower their costs, but that is much easier said than done.
  - sarchertech 4y ago
    That’s what they attempted with podcasts.

phamilton4 4y ago

TBH I think the average Sr. Developer is ~130k in the US. Of course this varies so much depending on the role and company.

CydeWeys 4y ago
Spotify pays significantly above the average, though. Not as high as the top-tier FANGs, but still high.
bumby 4y ago
The average software developer (not sure that it's pertinent to constrain it to "senior" devs) is $120k in the US. In San Francisco, the median is $161k [1] [1] https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1252.00 https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1252.00

CydeWeys 4y ago

Levels.fyi supports me at least: https://www.levels.fyi/companies/spotify/salaries https://www.levels.fyi/companies/spotify/salaries

phamilton4 4y ago
I commented above, whether the salary is 150k, 250k, 500k... the impact doesn't change 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.33%. Not sure it really matters. Again I'm not defending lazy employees or saying employers are bad for doing this. I feel there is a hidden cost of layoffs from my own experience of being at a company doing round after round of layoffs.
- CydeWeys 4y ago
  Agreed it doesn't matter much in this case, but it is a common misconception that employees don't cost nearly as much to employers as they actually do, so I wanted to step in and correct that.

pc86 4y ago

I applied for an "entry-level" EM role with Spotify in 2021 and the base was 260-275, plus a generous bonus target and stock. TC would have been pushing $400k, for a fully remote USCAN-based role. I say that strictly as a calibration point - it's unlikely engineers are pushing half a million (maybe at the Staff+ level) but there's also not likely any engineers before $150k TC. I'd expect even mid-levels to be in the $200-225 ballpark but could be wrong. I think $150k median is probably on the lower side of correct, but not enough to meaningfully impact any of the numbers anyone is discussing here. It's close enough.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
The stock price has more then halved since 2021, and based on their business model and history of profit, as an employee, I would not value the stock portion of compensation much. As far as I can tell, Apple/Google/Amazon will always provide the ceiling price for how much Spotify can charge its customers, hence capping revenue, and the 3 record labels will always extract just enough to keep Spotify operating. In a similar situation to Netflix, Spotify’s play would have to be to create their own content to lower their costs, but that is much easier said than done.
- sarchertech 4y ago
  That’s what they attempted with podcasts.