Spotify will buy The Ringer, the podcast-centric media company run and owned by Bill Simmons, and plans to hire Simmons and his approximately 90 employees
The Ringer CEO Bill Simmons in 2015 | Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair — It's the fourth podcast deal Spotify has done in a year.
Vox Peter Kafka
Related Coverage
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Discussion
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@billsimmons
Bill Simmons
on x
This morning we announced that @spotify is acquiring The Ringer. Couldn't be more excited to work with @eldsjal and his phenomenal team. More details to come down the road... but @ringer will remain @ringer in every respect. They appreciate what we do and they want us to be us.
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@marcoarment
Marco Arment
on x
If you don't want Spotify to take over podcasts for themselves, the best things you can do are: - Don't listen there. Most other podcast apps are better anyway! - Stop listening to any shows that become Spotify exclusives, and tell the creators why they lost you as a listener.
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@marcoarment
Marco Arment
on x
Spotify was already the biggest threat to podcasts. Now it's bigger. They're fragmenting podcasts into two worlds — Spotify's walled garden with exclusives and ad tracking, and the open ecosystem of everyone else — to co-opt “podcasts” to imply “on Spotify”. Divide and conquer. h…
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@samitsarkar
Samit Sarkar
on x
I hope this ends up being long-term good news for @ringer, a website I like very much, and specifically for — just as importantly — everyone at @RingerUnion https://www.vox.com/...
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@pitdesi
Sheel Mohnot
on x
Spotify has made 4 podcast acquisitions - Bill Simmons “the ringer,” Parcast, Gimlet, and Anchor. In their quest to be “the world's leading audio platform” I'm still shocked that they haven't acquired or built a meditation app. https://twitter.com/...
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@pkafka
Peter Kafka
on x
“With the Ringer, we're basically getting the new ESPN,” says Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. https://www.vox.com/...
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@eldsjal
Daniel Ek
on x
Reporting our Q4'19 results. Proud of all the work from Spotifiers around the world. More info here https://newsroom.spotify.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
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@ingridlunden
Ingrid
on x
The ad business being so small today (just under 12%) is one reason why I think the podcast growth is something to watch over there. It gives Spotify another prime place to sell ads, since these are worked into podcasts in multiple formats that don't exist in music streams. https…
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@ingridlunden
Ingrid
on x
Spotify's ad biz is growing, but it's still just under 12% of its total sales (premium subscriptions are much bigger). Interesting complement when you consider the companies out there that could stand to diversify from their mainly ad-based revenues. https://twitter.com/...
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@kerrymflynn
@kerrymflynn
on x
Podcasts, they're helping! “We continue to see exponential growth in podcast hours streamed (up approximately 200% Y/Y) and are now seeing clear indications that podcast usage is driving increased overall engagement and retention.” https://investors.spotify.com/ ...