Country Programmer John Marks Lands At Spotify

In a move to bolster the streaming service’s country music presence, Spotify has signed John Marks away from SiriusXM, according to The Tennessean.

Marks will work as Spotify's global programming head for country music with the critical job of adding country artists to the service's popular playlists. During his tenure at Sirius, Marks earned a reputation for spotting talent and breaking young artists of all stripes. He was on the front end, for instance, of playing songs by Florida Georgia Line, Brandy Clark, Cole Swindell, Chase Rice and others.

John Marks

Initially confronted with a skeptical response from Music Row, Spotify has already made inroads in Nashville, thanks to country music label relations executive Copeland Isaacson. The streaming service has brokered deals to exclusively release new music and promoted emerging artists. Marks and Isaacson will work together to continue growing country music on the world's most popular streaming service.

"I think it’s doing great," Spotify vice president of content and distribution Steve Savoca said about how country music is faring on the service. "And I think there’s a lot more headroom for it. Making a hire like John Marks speaks to our investment and interest in helping develop it."

Marks said his new role will give him the opportunity to help spread country music on a worldwide basis. His primary job will be curating Spotify's various country music playlists.

Marks said he enjoyed the job of helping break young artists by playing their music, often when they were still unsigned, on SiriusXM. For that reason, he said it was a tough choice to leave the satellite radio provider.

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