Back when music streaming services were first launched, they were exactly that, which is a platform for users to stream music from. However with so many services available today, these platforms need to start offering up more features to set themselves apart from the competition, and it looks like Spotify could be working on something new.According to a report from Bloomberg, it seems that Spotify is apparently working on a new podcast initiative. The report claims that Spotify has agreed to promote more podcasts on its app as well as via ads on buses, and in return, several prominent podcasts such as “Reply All,” “Pod Save America”, and “The Bill Simmons Podcast” have agreed to promote Spotify on social media and during their shows.
Matt Lieber, co-founder and president of Gimlet Media who produces the “Reply All” podcast, “The potential for Spotify is to introduce this caliber of storytelling to a much larger audience, who are already in a listening mindset. I see a growing effort to make podcasts more accessible on the platform. And they’re making progress.”
This is an interesting direction for Spotify considering that many typically associate podcasts with Apple. Podcasts do have a pretty big presence, with Bloomberg citing a survey from earlier this year that revealed that 15% of Americans over 12 had listened to a podcast in the past week, while a quarter listen to one at least once a month.
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