Spotify Makes New $100M Podcast Deal; More Acquisitions May Follow

By Christina Kumar Last updated May 29, 2020 Share with new partner:

Spotify’s recent major acquisitions also include Anchor FM, Gimlet Media, and Parcast in 2019, as well as Bill Simmons’ podcast The Ringer in 2020. These acquisitions have been growing Spotify’s podcasting audience as well as increasing competition from other podcasting networks. Photo credit Shutterstock licensed.

SACRAMENTO, CA – The Joe Rogan Experience hosted by comedian, actor, sports commentator, martial artist, and television host, Joe Rogan; has been bought by Spotify (NYSE: SPOT). Rogan stated:

“Starting on September 1 the podcast will be available on Spotify as well as all platforms, and then at the end of the year it will move exclusively to Spotify, including the video version.”

   
  
 
 
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   Announcement: the podcast is moving to @spotify! Starting on September 1 the podcast will be available on Spotify as well as all platforms, and then at the end of the year it will move exclusively to Spotify, including the video version. It will remain FREE, and it will be the exact same show. It’s just a licensing deal, so Spotify won’t have any creative control over the show. They want me to just continue doing it the way I’m doing it right now. We will still have clips up on YouTube but full versions of the show will only be on Spotify after the end of the year. I’m excited to have the support of the largest audio platform in the world and I hope you folks are there when we make the switch!
 A post shared by  Joe Rogan (@joerogan) on May 19, 2020 at 11:30am PDT

The deal is reported to be a licensing agreement worth more than $100 million dollars. The deal had also increased the company’s stock by adding $1.7 billion to its market cap in 23 minutes.

While still continuing to be free, the full versions of the show will only be available on Spotify after the year ends. The Joe Rogan Experience to date has 1,481 episodes and counting with more than 190 million downloads a month since April 2019. This deal is considered to be Spotify’s second major acquisition to its podcast arena and with Spotify having more than 286 million active users on its platform, the deal will more than likely bring in new listeners to the podcast.

Spotify’s recent major acquisitions also include Anchor FM, Gimlet Media, and Parcast in 2019, as well as Bill Simmons’ podcast The Ringer in 2020. These acquisitions have been growing Spotify’s podcasting audience as well as increasing competition from other podcasting networks. With Apple being the number one podcasting app at the moment; Amazon has been reported to be adding podcasts to its Amazon Music app in the next coming months as well.

In regards to the new podcast acquisitions, there are those in favor of them and those who are not. Shawn Flynn the host of The Silicon Valley Podcast states:

“I like it as a lot of people on YouTube and many other platforms are being censored where it appears Spotify is actually allowing freedom of speech as with the Joe Rogan example.”

As podcast audiences are rising; more acquisitions are likely in the next few years. These acquisitions will also grant the acquiring companies’ greater access to the demographics of these audiences which can make it easier to obtain advertisers. With greater access and leverage to these podcasts, the acquiring companies can advertise to these audiences more efficiently which would further increase revenue.