Bad culture - Politics, nepotism, micromanagement, constant reorg... - Enterprise Epidemic Sound Employee Review

Ambitious with High Expectations: It’s an exciting, fast-paced environment where everyone is driven to do great work, which naturally pushes you to grow. International & Fun: You get to collaborate with a diverse, global team in a highly vibrant and fun atmosphere. Incredibly Kind People: Despite the high bar for performance, the culture remains supportive, inclusive, and genuinely kind.

The rapid growth and high ambition mean priorities can shift quickly. It’s perfect if you love dynamic environments, but it requires a lot of adaptability.

Great overall concept and huge potential as a company. I met genuinely talented, creative, and kind people across multiple teams, and the hiring pool is strong. The Sweden trips and global aspect of the company were also exciting perks. There is a real sense of advocacy around helping artists earn money in a more transparent way, which is admirable and part of what initially drew me in. That said, it’s important to understand this is ultimately a sync/library business, not a traditional label or artist development company, despite how it may sometimes position itself externally.

Leadership fundamentally misunderstood the U.S. market and consistently made decisions that felt disconnected from both culture and the realities of building a music business in America. The company speaks heavily about DEI and values-driven culture, yet there was little meaningful creator strategy in the U.S. and very little diversity represented at creator events globally. There was often a major disconnect between external messaging and internal execution. Management frequently hid behind a “kind Swedish culture” while major restructuring and layoffs were happening in the background. The impact of laying off employees across territories, especially in the U.S., felt deeply overlooked. In America, losing a job can mean losing healthcare, housing stability, and financial security overnight. Many incredibly talented people were let go all at once with little regard for the human impact. The company also seems far more focused on cost cutting and operational efficiency than actual music culture or artist development. At the end of the day, they own a large catalog, and the long-term direction increasingly feels like reducing headcount while maximizing revenue from existing assets. There were talented people across the organization, but leadership lacked vision, accountability, and urgency. I personally felt set up for failure in my role and saw too many decisions driven by optics and internal politics instead of strategy or genuine care for music and people. I would strongly caution anyone considering joining the company, especially if you care deeply about music culture, artist relationships, or long-term growth opportunities.