Photo credit: Spotify
Spotify is changing its podcasting strategy again — this time with syndication in mind.
Spotify is changing its podcast strategy again, making its exclusive podcasts available on other platforms to generate revenue through syndication. The company is in talks to produce its popular podcasts armchair expert And Everything goes is available on other streaming platforms, reversing its previous strategy of attracting listeners outside of its platform through syndication and increasing revenue for the shows.
armchair expert is hosted by Dax Shephard and Monica Padman, currently announced as a “Spotify Exclusive” but may be available on other platforms soon. The audio version of Emma Chamberlains Everything goes is already available on Apple’s podcast service, and more shows are likely to follow, they say Bloomberg Reports from people with expertise.
Spotify’s decision to expand distribution for Everything goes And armchair expert reflects his move to expand distribution for Science vs — a Gimlet show that’s seeing a resurgence following Spotify’s recent layoff of 200 employees through the company’s acquisition of Gimlet and Parcast — and perhaps serving as an acknowledgment of the limitations Spotify’s exclusivity model imposes.
Reversing strategy and setting a precedent for wider distribution of other shows would align Spotify more closely with broadcasters like SiriusXM and focus on acquiring listeners rather than driving listeners to a specific platform.
This strategy has helped Spotify in the past as sports and pop culture podcast studio The Ringer has been able to maintain its wide distribution since Spotify’s acquisition in 2020. Gimlet original hit The diary is also available on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
But Spotify’s podcasting business, while still huge, continues to collapse like a pie in the oven. Many of the original founders and executives who came to Spotify to build its podcasting empire have left the company over the past year.
That list includes Nir Zicherrman, who ran the company’s audio book division; Michael Mignano, who led the company’s podcasting tech stack; top podcast dealmaker Courtney Holt; Gimlet co-founder Alex Blumberg; and Parcast Founder and Head of Talk Creator Content and Partnerships Max Cutler.