Spotify has deepened its investment in podcasting with the acquisitions of Podsights and Chartable, two services that provide more insights to podcasting advertisers and publishers, the Swedish company said on Wednesday.
Podsights helps marketers gauge the effectiveness of their ads, an area Spotify said was a big challenge. Chartable provides audience insights that help podcast publishers measure the effectiveness of their growth campaigns.
Financial details of the transactions were not available.
“Our acquisitions of podcast technology players Podsights and Chartable are helpful in our quest to level the playing field for digital audio measurement,” said Khurrum Malik, head of marketing for Spotify’s ad business.
Stockholm-based Spotify has been investing heavily in podcasts because, unlike the music business, which is largely commoditized and low-margin as it pays a share of revenue to rights holders, podcasts engage listeners for hours on end. wire, creating a valuable advertising inventory that has sustained Wall Street’s optimism about its long-term future.
Since announcing its “Audio-First” initiative in 2019, signaling its push into podcasting, Spotify has acquired podcast networks like Gimlet Media and Anchor, negotiated exclusive deals with popular personalities including Joe Rogan and the host of “Call Her Daddy.” ”, Alex Cooper, and invested in underlying technology.
Rogan has emerged as Spotify’s most popular podcast in 90 markets, even as it has become a lightning rod for criticism for views on COVID-19 and use of racist language. He apologized and over 100 episodes of his show were removed.
Spotify has been working to modernize podcast advertising through features like real-time ad insertion and acquisitions like Megaphone, which help podcast publishers earn more from their content. It hopes to capture a portion of the $2 billion (approximately Rs. 15,040 crore) that eMarketer predicts will flow into podcasting by 2023.
“We are very excited to bring this service to advertisers in the United States,” Malik said. “But then we want to expand its coverage to international markets.”
© Thomson Reuters 2022