TechCrunch – Spotify is going after podcasts in a major way in 2019.The music streaming service today confirmed that it has snapped up two podcast networks — Gimlet and Anchor — in undisclosed deals…
The deals are a major push for Spotify, but the writing has been on the wall for those paying attention. We reported last month from CES that Spotify is going after podcasting this year. The company has been going after exclusive shows — at CES it added “Unbothered” from journalist Jemele Hill — while it is also working on specialist ad units around its podcast network.
We’ve heard Spotify talk a big game on “the future of radio” before, but this time around it is putting money behind its ambitions. The big strategy, beyond catering to the growth of podcasts, is to develop a new channel for consumption of its core business as Courtney Holt, the head of Spotify Studios, told us in January.
In a move that should put Apple on high alert, Spotify recently acquired the growing DIY podcast platform, Anchor. As podcasts become more prevalent, everyone from Joe Rogan’s million of podcast downloads to the average Joe with just a handful of listens is getting in on the fun. Podcasts are nothing new, but Anchor made the medium more easily accessible than it ever had been before. In the past users would need to create RSS feeds, pay for hosting on their website etc. It’s a blindspot in the podcast market that Apple never effectively tackled.
With Anchor though it’s as easy as pressing record and uploading the audio, which is then distributed to podcast platforms on your behalf like iTunes, Google Play…and Spotify. They quickly have filled a void in the market. There was an appetite from users that wanted to get into podcasting without having to be an audio engineer. Spotify recognized that and jumped at the chance to bring Anchor into it’s growing audio portfolio. Don’t be surprised when consumers are soon listening to their podcasts primarily via Spotify after years of iTunes being the default provider.
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