From Play to Pay: How Soundtrack Uses PQLs to Drive Growth

What turns a free trial user into a paying customer?

For Ola Sars, founder and CEO of Soundtrack, the answer is all about behavior. In this episode, we break down how his team uses product-led growth (PLG) and product-qualified leads (PQLs) to drive conversions. 

You'll hear how playing 100 tracks became a key signal for purchase intent, the tactics Soundtrack deploys to help self-serve customers experience value fast, and what it takes to scale a SaaS business in a market ruled by consumer giants.

If you're building a PLG motion or trying to convert lookie-loos into cash customers, listen in.

RUNTIME 45:20

EPISODE BREAKDOWN

(3:11) “ It's 20 years now I've been trying to make a living here in the intersection of audio, music and technology.”

(5:22) How Ola became a member of Beats’ founding team.

(9:37) Why he returned to Stockholm to build Soundtrack instead of remaining stateside.

(13:38) When Ola started to learn about product-led growth.

(15:38) “ It's a $40-50 billion market on an annual basis. And we're kind of the only company going after that market right now.”

(18:54) “ We had this approach that everything had to be done self-serve.”

(20:33) Creating a framework to ID and leverage product-qualfied leads (PQLs).

(26:06) What role will AI play in music distribution and production?

(28:23) The gaps Ola sees in today’s music technology marketplace.

(32:04) Why AI-generated music “ doesn't make any sense.”

(35:03) Ola reflects on several cultural shifts that have made it “much easier now” to build in Europe.

(38:12) Stockholm’s entrepreneurs are “kind of hybrid Americans in a way how we think about business.”

(42:08) The biggest myth Americans believe about starting up in Europe.

(44:09) If you were interviewing for a job with an early-stage startup, what’s one question you’d have to ask the CEO before you could accept an offer?

LINKS

• Ola Sars
• Soundtrack
• B2B music streaming service Soundtrack Your Brand raises $15 million, Tech.eu
• ​​What is “lagom?”, Study in Sweden
• The English term "mid" matches the Swedish term "bland, mellan,” tok-pisin.com

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Thanks for listening!

– Walter.