Haley Talton took her passion for data science from statistics classes at Carolina to her career at the world’s largest audio streaming service.
Carolina alumna Haley Talton remembers a time when working at Spotify felt like a “reach” goal in her career.
Now, the class of 2020 graduate spends her workweek as part of the band — as the music and audio streaming pioneer calls its staff — in her role as a data scientist in the company’s New York office.
Talton describes herself as “the definition of Tar Heel born, Tar Heel bred.”
“My mom went to UNC, my aunt went to UNC, my grandma was a cheerleader at UNC,” said Talton, who is originally from Smithfield, North Carolina. “It was always the place I wanted to go.”
Thanks to her love of “AP Statistics” in high school, she knew before she stepped foot on Carolina’s campus that she would major in mathematical decision sciences, now statistics and analytics.
“I’m a big fan of black-and-white logic and reasoning,” said Talton. “I declared that major and never changed it.”
Talton credits her statistics classes at UNC with introducing her to the foundational skills that she uses daily in her role in Spotify’s finance department working with podcast and advertising monetization.
In teaching assistant professor Mario Giacomazzo’s “Introduction to Data Science” class, Talton discovered the power of using data to tell a story and working on teams to delve into complex, data-focused projects.
“His class was my first exposure to data science and a big reason that I knew I wanted to do that for my career,” said Talton, who later took Giacomazzo’s “Sports Analytics” class, both offered in the department of statistics and operations research.
After graduating, Talton spent a year working in consulting before earning a master’s degree in data science from Johns Hopkins University. A serendipitous summer internship posting during graduate school officially paved the way for her dream job.
Spotify was in search of a student who had a passion for data science and a background in consulting. “It was one of those listings that, you’re like, ‘I’m perfect for this,’” she said.
During that summer, she created a tool that automated podcast consumption analytics. The product helped earn Talton a full-time position when she finished her master’s.
Since beginning her current role in January 2023, Talton’s work has kept her connected with the world of podcasts. Her day-to-day is focused on analyses and automations in the podcast and advertising space, often in collaboration with Spotify’s accounting and engineering teams.
Importantly, Talton said, her work allows for creative problem solving, a skill that takes her back to her time in Carolina’s classrooms.
“I think that is one of the biggest skills I learned at UNC — problem solving and having the perseverance to keep trying. That’s how I’d describe my job in a nutshell.”
As she grows in her role, Talton is looking forward to advancing her skills in data science and supporting the Spotify creator and listener experience through her work.
As a music and podcast listener — Talton’s taste runs a “very wide range” from artists Dua Lipa, Noah Kahan and Rüfüs Du Sol to the neuroscience podcast “Huberman Lab” and comedy podcast “Giggly Squad” — she is excited to soak in the energetic environment of working for a trailblazer in streaming.
“Everyone at Spotify is excited to be here,” said Talton. “It’s a safe space for everyone to come together and work on projects that they’re passionate about.”
By Jess Abel ’19
Listen to some of Talton’s favorite podcast episodes in this Spotify playlist created especially for Carolina Arts & Sciences magazine.