The Secrets of Successful M&A: How Soundtrap Managed an Acquisition From Spotify Quickly & Compliantly

When a 35-person Swedish music tech startup gets acquired by Spotify, you’d expect a big transformation. But what happens years later, when that same team decides to leave Spotify and go independent again, this time with over 70 employees spread across nine countries?

In this conversation between George Britton (Director at Omnipresent) and Olle Råghall (COO at Soundtrap), we get an inside look at the people-first approach behind Soundtrap’s spinout, and what it really takes to pull off a global transition like this without breaking continuity, culture, or compliance.

From Startup Energy to Spotify Backing

Olle joined Soundtrap in 2017, just before the Spotify acquisition. The company was already special: a small, international team building a cloud-based music creation platform that worked entirely in the browser. Think of it as Google Docs, but for music production.

“We wanted to remove the friction,” Olle explained. “Most people who want to make music aren’t engineers. They just want to create, ideally with others.”

That vision started resonating in a place the team didn’t expect: U.S. schools. Teachers discovered Soundtrap on their own and started using it in classrooms. Before long, Google took notice and included Soundtrap in its official education tools bundle.

Life Under Spotify: Growth, Systems, and Freedom

The acquisition came just six months after Olle joined. Soundtrap remained a distinct brand inside Spotify, but gained access to world-class HR infrastructure, career frameworks, benefits, and the flexibility to hire globally.

Remote work, formally embraced by Spotify during the pandemic, unlocked hiring in ways the original Stockholm-based team had never imagined. Developers in Germany, marketers in the U.K., and designers from anywhere became a reality.

“We went from 35 to more than triple that,” Olle said. “And we kept much of the original team through it all.”

When Independence Calls

In mid-2023, Soundtrap’s founders made the decision to reacquire the company and take it private again. It wasn’t dramatic, just a strategic shift that made sense on both sides.

But the timeline was tight. They had three weeks to move 75 people off Spotify’s infrastructure, set up legal entities, handle payroll in multiple currencies, replicate benefits, and do it all without disrupting anyone’s paycheck or access to healthcare.

“It was a huge lift,” Olle admitted. “You’re spinning up a company from scratch, but with a global team already in place.”

Global Complexity, Real Deadlines

Soundtrap had employees in Sweden, the U.K., the U.S., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The team had to figure out the right employment model for each country: in some, they opened entities; in others, they leaned on Omnipresent’s Employer of Record (EOR) solution to hire and pay compliantly without needing a local presence.

Each decision came down to a mix of factors: how many people were in the country, what kind of benefits they expected, what legal risks existed, and, sometimes, where employees planned to move next.

“One person left Finland, so we didn’t need to support that country anymore,” Olle recalled. “Another moved from Spain to the Netherlands. So we had to adjust the plan in real time.”

The Benefit Balancing Act

Matching Spotify-level benefits wasn’t going to be easy, but it was non-negotiable.

“The benefits were a huge part of people’s sense of security,” Olle said. “We wanted to get as close as possible.”

For each market, Soundtrap benchmarked offers from Spotify’s original providers against Omnipresent’s recommended partners. In every case, Omnipresent’s options came out ahead, simpler, faster, and more cost-effective.

Still, it wasn’t easy. The U.S. alone took a full week of work to get right. In smaller countries, Soundtrap chose to simplify, replacing things like lunch cards with a salary top-up instead of managing local vendors for just one or two people.

“If I could do it again,” Olle said, “I’d start the benefits process earlier, with a full-time lead per country.”

Communicating Change Without Creating Panic

When Spotify announced the spinout, the Soundtrap team had to quickly reassure their people: salaries weren’t changing, healthcare wasn’t going away, and the company had a clear plan.

Not everyone reacted the same way. For some, like Olle, the return to a scrappier startup model was exciting. For others, especially those who had joined during the Spotify years, the change brought anxiety.

“There were a lot of questions. Visa status, local tax regimes, how payroll would work. We had to be present, honest, and as transparent as possible.”

What Soundtrap Learned

1. Benefits are not an afterthought: They take time, vendor management, and serious planning. Starting early is crucial.
2. Compliance needs flexibility. No two countries are the same. Even within Europe, each one has its own HR logic.
3. Simplicity wins when headcount is low: For countries with one or two employees, streamline as much as possible.
4. Talent is everywhere: The ability to hire in different geographies, and retain people during major changes, is no longer optional for companies like Soundtrap. It’s central to the strategy.

So, What’s Next?

Soundtrap is back to being independent, but more global than ever. The team is still focused on what they do best: making music creation accessible to everyone, especially young creators in schools and bedroom producers around the world.

They’ve kept their hybrid work model. There’s an office in Stockholm for those who want it, but remote is fully supported. New hires can live where they do their best work.

And the team? Over 20 of the original 35 from the pre-Spotify days are still with the company.

“When you make people the priority,” Olle said, “they stick around.”