Episode 129: Per Ploug and the Spotify FOSS Fund

Guest Per Ploug Krogslund Panelists Richard Littauer | Ben Nickolls
Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! The podcast where we talk
about sustaining open source for the long haul. Our guest today is
Per Ploug Krogslund, who’s the Open Source Tech Lead at Spotify.
He’s with us to talk in-depth about the FOSS Fund he’s setting up
with Spotify, to pay maintainers of independent projects and give
back to open source developers. Go ahead and download this episode
now to hear more! [00:01:30] Per tells us his background, how he
got involved with Spotify and open source, and he tells us about
the OSPO office at Spotify. [00:05:46] Ben wonders how the
conversation evolved in Spotify about how an OSPO would work there
and how he got to be the one person that’s representing the OSPO.
[00:09:47] Per explains the FOSS Fund he’s setting up to give back
to open source. [00:11:50] Richard wonders what Per is doing to
make sure that the participation is authentic and aligns to the
values of the people who are in those projects beforehand so that
he doesn’t come off as an extractive corporate company. [00:14:22]
What is Per doing to make sure there’s enough governance set up
where the money is being used with the project to make developer’s
lives happy? [00:15:55] Find out how people working at Spotify are
involved in the process of deciding who’s going to receive what
they’re supposed to receive, and Per tells us how he’s thinking
about next year looking at the success of the program he’s setting
up this year. [00:21:14] When Per is having conversations in
Spotify about what the FOSS Funds look like in terms of money, we
find out if there’s any other investments that are competing
alongside that. Also, is InnerSource a thing inside Spotify?
[00:24:41] Per explains what’s going on with diversity of projects
right now and if there’s any thoughts deeper down the dependency
stack and helping projects. [00:28:02] Richard wonders if Per’s
supporting projects which go towards Spotify’s larger goals in the
long run of different markets and different technologies ensuring
faster transmission, and if he’s thinking about the dependencies
which he will have in the future and supporting those ecosystems as
opposed to individual projects. [00:32:56] In terms of degrowth and
the possibility of having a sustainable Spotify, Richard asks Per’s
thoughts on if there’s any room to talk about open source policy.
Ben shares his thoughts on a possible direction to take with a
cooperative community based project. [00:39:20] Find out where you
follow Per on the web. Quotes [00:10:06] “We’re trying to just have
a fair relationship with the people we depend on.” Spotlight
[00:39:50] Ben’s spotlight is fs Timer. [00:40:35] Richard’s
spotlight is Jim Kang and his project, GODTRIBUTES. [00:41:24]
Per’s spotlight is a Spotify project, Basic Pitch. Links SustainOSS
(https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter
(https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/)
podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) Richard
Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt) Ben Nickolls
Twitter (https://twitter.com/benjam?lang=en) Per Ploug Twitter
(https://twitter.com/pploug) Per Ploug LinkedIn
(https://de.linkedin.com/in/per-ploug-krogslund) Spotify for
Developers (https://spotify.github.io/) Spotify
(https://www.spotify.com/us/) Sustain Podcast-Episode 71: Hong Phuc
Dang, founder of FOSSAsia, on how to build communities across
boundaries (https://podcast.sustainoss.org/guests/hong-phuc-dang)
Sustain Podcast-Episode 121: FOSS Backstage 2022 with Cornelius
Schumacher, Yadira Sánchez Benítez & Thomas Fricke
(https://podcast.sustainoss.org/121) Sustain Podcast-Episode 120:
FOSS Backstage 2022 with Rich Bowen & Paul Berschick
(https://podcast.sustainoss.org/120) Sustain Podcast-Episode 119:
FOSS Backstage 2022 with Ana Jiménez Santamaría and McCoy Smith
(https://podcast.sustainoss.org/119) Sustain Podcast-Episode 118:
FOSS Backstage 2022 with Florian Gilcher & Silona Bonewald
(https://podcast.sustainoss.org/118) Spotify Says It Paid $7
Billion In Royalties In 2021 Amid Claims Of Low Pay From Artists
(Forbes)
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/03/24/spotify-says-it-paid-7-billion-in-royalties-in-2021-amid-claims-of-low-pay-from-artists/?sh=5543d6dda0db)
Announcing the Spotify FOSS Fund (Spotify R&D)
(https://engineering.atspotify.com/2022/04/announcing-the-spotify-foss-fund/)
fs Timer (http://fstimer.org/) Jim Kang Website
(https://jimkang.com/) GODTRIBUTES
(https://smidgeo.com/bots/godtributes/) Basic Pitch
(https://basicpitch.spotify.com/) Credits Produced by Richard
Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at
Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by
DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/)
Special Guest: Per Ploug Krogslund.