“They largely want everything to be everywhere,” Bari said. “The music business decided years ago that they don’t want platform-specific exclusives,” Sundus Shahid Bari, associate director of strategy and planning at Blitz Advertising, explained. And ad-supported revenue accounted for a record 15% of total revenues in Q4, with a double-digit increase in monthly active users engaging in podcasts compared to Q3.Īnd podcasts are a more lucrative investment than tunes. Spotify recently reported 406 million monthly active users in Q4, up from 381 million from the previous quarter. There’s increasing demand for podcasts on Spotify, and the company recognizes it needs more than music streaming to increase revenue. Last week, Spotify said it’s acquiring two more podcast tech platforms, Chartable and Podsight, and is also among those considering bids on another podcasting platform, Audioboom. The company has already dropped billions on acquiring podcasting companies and exclusive content deals, including “The Joe Rogan Experience” and “Call Her Daddy” with Alex Cooper. It’s clear Spotify wants to grow the podcast business, with the platform offering some 3.6 million podcasts to date. Why Spotify is moving aggressively into the podcasting business As a publisher, however, the company assumes the role of an editor over its content, becoming more active in moderating content for harmful material, dangerous activities or hate speech. As a platform for music and other content that it licenses from traditional labels and content providers, Spotify takes far less responsibility by just offering a home to creators. Many social media companies have been forced to step into roles as publishers after initially being considered platforms. The difference between publisher and platform Spotify is navigating a difficult path of being a platform over being a publisher.” “It wasn’t until after a public outcry did Spotify decide to act. “Like its social media counterparts, it is tackling the questions of content governance, censorship and free speech,” Talan Tyminski, vice president of strategic firm The MACH 1 Group, told TheWrap. But, as other media has proven in recent years, Spotify could be forced to redefine itself as a publisher if it continues to make exclusive talent and content deals, which will organically increase its responsibility to police its content.
In the wake of the Joe Rogan public relations mess, Spotify seems to have decided it’s simply a platform, which may help the company to minimize its responsibility over misinformation and offensive content.
Spotify’s biggest decision to come may be content moderation as it forges ahead from streaming just licensed music into the more financially rewarding world of podcasting.
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