In a mission to becoming the world’s leading audio platform, Stockholm-based music streaming provider Spotify is all set to acquire podcast companies Gimlet and Anchor to compete with Apple’s popular iTunes’ podcasting platform. Podcasts are a promising and an evolving industry -- U.S podcast ad revenue jumped 86% in 2017 to $314 million. Spotify plans to spend $400 million to $500 million on acquisitions in 2019.
Gimlet Media has a podcast studio with dedicated intellectual-property development, production and advertising capabilities. Anchor has a platform of tools for podcast creators as well as an established and rapidly growing creator base.
This move is an effort on the part of Spotify to branch out and differentiate its musical offerings in a nascent but burgeoning podcast industry that promises opportunities for growth. In fact, Spotify may also try to generate revenue for itself by striking a deal with musical acts to upload their music directly to their platform and automatically receive royalty payouts.