We see companies trying to reinvent themselves or diversify into fields that aren’t quite thought to be their niche all the time. In a bid to draw in more revenue, Spotify is doubling down on its podcast network with the acquicision of two Podcast startups, Gimlet Media and Anchor.
Gimlet Media is a start-up podcast network, while Anchor provides creators with tools to build, publish, and monetize podcasts.
Spotify already has a rather impressive podcast catalogue with most of the big names in podcast already available. “In just shy of two years, we have become the second-biggest podcasting platform, Our podcast users spend almost twice the time on the platform, and spend even more time listening to music” explains Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. “
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This move, Ek believes, will lead to 20 percent of all Spotify listening being non-music content in the future. “This means the potential to grow much faster with more original programming — and to differentiate Spotify by playing to what makes us unique — all with the goal of becoming the world’s number one audio platform.”
Spotify really is betting big on Podcasts
The investment in podcasts strengthens Spotify’s competitive position. It gives the service’s 96 million premium subscribers a reason to stick with Spotify instead of going to a rival like Apple to listen to a favorite podcast.
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Spotify is still planning more acquisitions for podcasts in 2019, and the company says it’s willing to spend around $500 million to grow its podcast business this year. It is reported that Spotify paid around $230 million for Gimlet alone.
Spotify’s Gimlet acquisition will certainly help lock more original content to the service, and could draw people over from rivals like Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.
Source: Spotify Newsroom