By the end of that year, it struck more than 30 deals for original shows. Spotify declared in early 2019 its intention to become the No. Like others who spoke to Insider, this person requested anonymity because of ongoing business with Spotify.Īnother person familiar with Spotify's podcast operations summed them up more bluntly as a "shit show." An executive who 'loves the buzz' but 'is slow to get stuff made' In the world of entertainment, hits are elusive and creative projects and partnerships are often abandoned before anything is made, but sources cited challenges within Spotify - including an ever-evolving strategy, executive turnover, and a reluctance to pull the trigger on production - that create "a particular bottleneck" for originals, per one dealmaker. Spotify defended its original programming business with a statement to the The Verge's Hot Pod newsletter in December, noting that many of its partnerships "are announced at the deal stage and it's important to recognize that like any production house or studio, building an audio arm takes time and requires significant planning." Interviews with 11 people with knowledge of Spotify's operations - those who've done deals there as well as company insiders - illuminate why its three-year push to produce its own shows with marquee talent partners has been rocky. "You can say it's a multi-pronged strategy, but so far it's mostly looked like they're just throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks." "Spotify wants to be an all-consuming audio platform," said Nick Quah, a podcast critic for New York Magazine's Vulture. But as the company continues to manage the fallout from its controversial association with Joe Rogan - whose show already was hugely popular before Spotify nabbed it exclusively in a deal valued at over $200 million, per a New York Times report - it faces growing scrutiny of its podcast business.
1 podcast app in the US, according to research firm Edison. that was announced in June 2020.Īll those splashy podcast announcements added heft and noise to Spotify's plan to move beyond the not-so-lucrative business of music streaming. And listeners have been waiting 17 months to hear its David Goyer-penned Batman drama, which is part of a broad first-look deal with Warner Bros. Spotify hasn't streamed more than 33 minutes of content from the Sussexes - a one-off holiday special - since signing them to a reported $25 million deal in late 2020. Nor have shows appeared from a number of other high-profile Hollywood talent who signed agreements with Spotify, including filmmakers Jordan Peele, Paul Feig, the Russo brothers, and Jay and Mark Duplass, as well as Kardashian and actor Mark Wahlberg. None of the projects it was developing with Spotify have been released. More than a year into the partnership, however, the companies have parted ways, an Array spokesman said.
The audio giant agreed to pay $300,000 annually to DuVernay's production company, Array, to pitch at least six shows per year for the duration of the two-year deal, according to documents obtained by Insider that contain details of many such deals - and that shed light on the company's broader podcast strategy. In October 2020, Spotify inked a deal with "Selma" director Ava DuVernay to create podcasts for its platform, part of the company's wider effort to expand its audio offerings by signing big names including Barack and Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. While development of originals has been slow, acquisitions like Joe Rogan's podcast have been hits.
0 kommentar(er)
