Spotify continued to pump the cash down range in an effort to dominate the podcasting arena, acquiring podcast-centric tech startups and studios with billions of dollars. This strategy enables the company to have complete ownership of the podcast production. It covers everything like tracking software to advertising sales leads. In a surprising step along its podcasting path, the company has signed a deal with Netflix. Their ambition is to incorporate video podcasts into the streaming behemoth’s platform by next year.
This move not only showcases Spotify’s commitment to dominating the audio landscape but signals a shift in how audiences consume content. At Spotify, we’re taking established podcast formats and introducing video into the mix. This strategic move establishes the platform as a major player in the continually morphing media landscape.
Spotify’s Strategic Acquisitions
Since 2017, Spotify has been on a buying spree, picking up more than a dozen tech startups and podcast studios. Those acquisitions have given the platform the power to control the entire podcast production process. This hands-on approach ensures high quality and consistency throughout its artful, creative programming. Their grip ranges from the technical aspects of recording, all the way to monetizing the content using ad sales technologies.
The streaming service has made real inroads by creating major partnerships with the industry’s most important players. Perhaps most interestingly, Spotify has recently signed exclusive deals with both iHeartMedia and Barstool Sports, adding to their podcast library and bolstering their advertising firepower.
“Netflix and Spotify are similar in that way — aggressive moves to test a new value proposition by targeting top performers and spending money that ultimately is not that substantial from the perspective of a global tech platform, but is meaningful to the creator economy, to quickly learn if there’s a ‘there’ there.” – Matthew Dysart
The importance of Netflix’s video podcasts isn’t just in their introduction to the platform. We’re thrilled to welcome this new partnership, which deepens our content portfolio. In doing so, it establishes a dynamic coalition that’s likely to transform how audiences experience both services.
The Emergence of Video Podcasts
Whether managed or understood by Spotify, their new adventure into video podcasting is an extension of a burgeoning trend in media consumption. It recently struck a partnership with Netflix to provide video podcasts, which the two companies are expected to begin rolling out next year. This project is one piece of a larger plan to draw audiences that engage with fast-paced, visual formats.
Content creators Mike Schubert and Sequoia Simone dive into this new series, aptly titled “Professional Talkers,” an immersive, video-first production that’s playing out on YouTube and Spotify. Even though Schubert has been producing long-form, narrative-based, audio-only podcasts for almost a decade, he says he’s a little torn about the shift toward video.
“We posted an audio-only episode, and it did pretty similarly, numbers-wise,” – Mike Schubert
As much as he might grumble about it, Schubert understands what video can do for pulling an audience in. He’s realistic, especially when it comes to the often taxing needs of video creation.
“So why would we put so much time and effort into the video and then run the risk of the episode being late when we can just do audio only?” – Mike Schubert
What he’s expressing here is a larger fear among creators about the move to video. Producers and podcasters across the country are looking at the advantages and balancing them with the high cost of production.
The Future of Podcasting
With Spotify and Netflix going all in on podcasting, thought leaders say this has the potential to flip the industry on its head. Mikah Sargent produces shows such as This Week in Tech. He added that video has been a key component of tech podcasts for more than 15 years. He agrees that if Netflix can figure out how to be the one-stop shop for podcasts, it’ll be worth it for both companies by leaps and bounds.
“Now people get to have a podcast playing in the background while they’re doing things, and if Netflix can be the place where they go to do that, then I think it’s a win for the company.” – Mikah Sargent
The potential for audience engagement is vast. Sargent even made the case for how podcasts are the perfect companion for all of these things.
“Something that I regularly hear from our listeners is … ‘you were my background when I was going through a rough time, or I needed to travel across the country, and having you there to listen to helped me pass the time,’” – Mikah Sargent
Podcasts are infiltrating every aspect of modern life and transforming the world. This combination leaves a huge opening for trendsetters like Netflix to jump on the bandwagon and ride the wave. Ronald Young Jr. pointed out that many creators feel pressured to pivot towards video content due to perceived industry expectations.
“And I realized that the pivot would be for advertisers, for podcast executives, and for people who think that video is the direction that everyone’s going.” – Ronald Young Jr.
As a result, this makes us wonder what lies ahead for audio-only formats. Creators are frantically trying to figure out their best paths forward in this new, confusing world.