Spotify buys podcast producer Gimlet Media, sources say for ~$230M, and Anchor, a startup which makes it easier for users to record and distribute podcasts
1. Rare double win for @betaworks and (GV and private) @mgsiegler / @msquinn 2. Gimlet far less valuable than Anchor in long run, but content is hard so it's a jump start.3. Audio = asynchronous = huge advantage over video. Josh Elman / @joshelman : People have been talking about Gimlet as the big deal here - partially because it was rumored, partially because it is original content like Netflix. I think the real steal is @anchor . @mignano and team are building the tools that will bring nearly all the audio creators Geoff Wood / @geoffwood : It'll be interesting to see how transparently they are able to cover the acquisition on the next episode of “StartUp”. http://twitter.com/... Ashley Mayer / @ashleymayer : I don't normally do portfolio exit congrats, but @mgsiegler had two in one day so http://twitter.com/... Sally Shin / @sallyshin : Daniel Ek on @CNBC talking about investing a lot more in original content. Says while base is low can see that investment doubling y/y. Focus is on audio (vs video) which is 2 hours of consumption a day $SPOT @anchor : We are so excited to announce that we are joining @spotify. Given our extremely aligned missions to democratize audio and unlock the potential of human creativity, we know this is the perfect pairing and will allow us to serve podcasters better than ever before. https://twitter.com/... Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw : Spotify's CEO has positioned societal concerns about screen time as an opportunity for audio services. http://twitter.com/... Jon Fortt / @jonfortt : The fact that Apple is letting the podcast industry evolve under its nose, when it should own podcasting, is a significant strategic blunder on the order of what happened to Google in the cloud. http://newsroom.spotify.com/ ... Harry Siegel / @harrysiegel : As Slate, Buzzfeed etc. lay off their podcasters in a world where actual listeners only have 24 hours in a day, here's the greater fool betting hundreds of millions on a future where you can sell to “people” with 100 listening hours a day http://twitter.com/... Tom Gara / @tomgara : The entire podcast advertising market was worth $315 million in 2018, and Spotify just paid $230 million for Gimlet http://www.recode.net/... Austin / @austindarbo : “In just shy of two years, we have become the second-biggest podcasting platform. And, more importantly, users love having podcasts as a part of their Spotify experience.” http://twitter.com/... Joe Weisenthal / @thestalwart : “Based on radio industry data, we believe it is a safe assumption that, over time, more than 20% of all Spotify listening will be non-music content.” http://newsroom.spotify.com/ ... Mark C. Webster / @markcwebster : Exciting to see this news for 3 companies I'm a fan of. Smart move by @Spotify. 93% of Americans listen to the radio every week, and the terrestrial radio ad market is $17B. This will help them swallow more of it. “Audio is going to be titanically important” -@pmarca http://twitter.com/... Peter Kafka / @pkafka : Non-podcast Spotify note: Spotify's average revenue per user is dropping — down ~7% — because it is adding more people via discounted family/student plans. But Spotify says its users are sticking around longer, so the numbers even out. Daniel Ek / @eldsjal : Audio first: Sharing some thoughts on @Gimletmedia and @anchor joining Spotify. http://newsroom.spotify.com/ ... See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Spotify is making its first purchase of an original content maker, closing on advanced talks to buy podcast producer Gimlet Media for a reported ~$230M while also acquiring Anchor, whose recording-and-distribution tools target everyday creators. The double deal pairs a Netflix-style content bet with the plumbing that feeds it.
The outlay quickly grew: an SEC filing put the combined price at ~$337M, with Spotify telling investors it planned $400M-$500M of podcast acquisitions in 2019 — a budget it kept drawing on with Parcast that April and later the Megaphone ad-tech deal.
First-order effects
- Spotify instantly owns both ends of the podcast stack — Gimlet's produced shows as exclusive catalog and Anchor's free creation tools as a supply pipeline — moving podcast listening and production onto its own platform.
- Anchor's creators gain a direct distribution path into Spotify's audience, while Gimlet's shows become differentiators Spotify can use against music-only rivals.
Second-order effects
- Apple, the incumbent podcast distributor, faces a competitor that now controls content, creation tools, and distribution — pressuring it to respond on exclusives or creator incentives.
- Podcast publishers and advertisers see Spotify building toward targeted-audio advertising, foreshadowing the Megaphone acquisition and shifting ad dollars toward platforms that own inventory end-to-end.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — Gimlet, then Parcast, then Megaphone — podcasting consolidates from an open RSS ecosystem into vertically integrated platforms that own studio, tools, and ad stack, echoing the exclusive-content economics of streaming video.
- For Spotify, exclusive audio becomes a hedge against its core problem: music licensing leaves margins thin, so owned content is one of the few levers that doesn't flow through labels — the subscription-growth-gap logic driving the whole M&A program.
The trend: Streaming platforms are vertically integrating audio — buying studios, creation tools, and ad tech to convert open podcasting into owned, exclusive inventory.