Spotify Acquires Podcasters Gimlet, Anchor To Create ‘Audio-First’ Streaming Service

Spotify has acquired two giants in podcasting, Gimlet Media and Anchor. "Gimlet and Anchor will position us to become the leading platform for podcast creators around the world and the leading producer of podcasts," Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said in a statement.

Gimlet is a major podcast content creator whose its include Homecoming, which was recently adapted into a critically acclaimed show on Amazon Prime, and the internet culture hit Reply All. The Gimlet deal is reported to be worth $200 – $230 million. 

Anchor is a podcast creation app, whose independent cretors uploaded 15 billion hours of content on the platform during Q4. 

"Just as we’ve done with music, our work in podcasting will focus intensively on the curation and customization that users have come to expect from Spotify. We will offer better discovery, data, and monetization to creators." said EK. "These acquisitions will meaningfully accelerate our path to becoming the world’s leading audio platform, give users around the world access to the best podcast content, and improve the quality of our listening experience while enhancing the Spotify brand."

Music Still Matters

Will music now have to play second fiddle on the Spotify?  Not to worry says Ek:

"To be clear, this doesn’t make music any less important at Spotify. Our core business is performing very well. But as we expand deeper into audio, especially with original content, we will scale our entire business, creating leverage in the model through subscriptions and ads. This is why we feel it is prudent to invest now to capture the opportunity ahead. We want Spotify to continue to be at the center of the global audio economy."

In fact, if Spotify's podcast play works, it could help make Spotify profitable, and that's only good news for artists and labels.

MORE: Spotify Reports 207M Users, 97M Paid, Strong Q4 Financials