Spotify is acquiring Chartable and Podsights, two podcast analytics companies that let podcasters and networks include tags in shows to track listeners
Chartable and Podsights are being bought — Spotify is making more podcast acquisitions. The company announced today it's acquiring …
The related coverage identifies dependable programmatic advertising and creator analytics as the immediate strategic use: Spotify is assembling more of the podcast workflow rather than only carrying shows.
First-order effects
Chartable and Podsights' tagging and listener-tracking capabilities move inside Spotify, giving the platform direct control of measurement tools used by podcasters and networks.
Podcasters and networks using those tools gain a closer link to Spotify's podcast business, while Spotify gains analytics infrastructure for its advertising offering.
Second-order effects
Spotify can pair its discovery, distribution, and measurement assets when pitching programmatic advertising to creators and networks, a position the related coverage frames as more competitive with YouTube.
Other podcast platforms and ad-tech providers face pressure to offer similarly dependable measurement and analytics to retain creators and ad buyers.
Third-order effects
If Spotify continues combining acquired production, discovery, distribution, and analytics assets, podcast competition shifts toward vertically integrated platforms that control both audience access and the data used to sell advertising.
The trend: Podcast platforms are using acquisitions to consolidate creator tools and advertising measurement around their own distribution ecosystems.
But there are infinite podcasts. Not a scarce resource. It's impossible to declare a monopoly here somehow and anthesis of what a media company is to decide to regulate based on talent. That would be a bit like a tech company being regulated for being “too good” at recruiting. ht…
+1 It's actually shocking how little analytical data is available from podcast platforms. Whichever major platform offers this will have a big advantage. https://twitter.com/...
@reckless I dunno what you mean by “compete”. I know that podcasts and music streaming aren't existential for @Apple and @Google, but I happily use @AppleMusic and @ApplePodcasts every day. I can listen to the Vergecast as soon as it drops and then my music. I'd say they're compe…
@reckless Or, you could conclude that @Spotify is destroying one of the last vestiges of the open web, amplifying dangerous misinformation, and shredding privacy. All while paying the creators of its main product, music, almost nothing.
One the one hand, Spotify trying to monopolize the entire podcast industry through acquisition is one of those things regulators should look at very closely. On the other hand, Apple and Google have done... nothing? At all? To compete? https://www.theverge.com/...
Imagine Google Analytics, but for podcasts. Or for any audio for that matter. Spotify must build this to become the audio advertising behemoth. https://twitter.com/...
To put it another way: podcasts are existential for Spotify and you can tell by how aggressive it is. Podcasts are just another part of the platform bundle for Apple and Google, and you can tell by how lazy they are