TikTok’s former U.S. head of content partnerships, Bryan Thoensen, has joined Spotify to oversee the company’s content strategy and partnerships with individual audio creators, known as the talk creator content and partnerships team.
Thoensen will report up to Max Cutler, who was promoted earlier this year to lead Spotify’s partnerships with creators and now holds the title of vp of talk creator content. In his new role at Spotify, Thoensen will also oversee the team’s business development and acquisitions as part of the audio giant’s larger exclusive podcast strategy.
“Bryan’s knowledge of the creator landscape will be critical as we build out our platform strategy with the goal of becoming a true platform beyond distribution, and reinforce our mission of building trust with creators,” Cutler wrote in a memo to staff.
Prior to joining Spotify, where the executive began meeting with the talk creator content and partnerships team in the past few weeks, Thoensen oversaw TikTok’s relationships with top public figures and managed relationships with brands like the NFL, NBA, Condé Nast and NBC. He was also formerly a svp for original entertainment at Fullscreen and a director of content for Hulu’s original programming following a roughly six-year career at WME.
Thoensen will remain based in Los Angeles.