Spotify is expanding its podcast business with the acquisition of Podsights and Chartable.
Spotify describes Podsights as an ad measurement service “that helps advertisers better measure and scale their podcast advertising,” and says that Chartable is a podcast analytics platform that helps publishers grow their audiences.
Spotify’s plans for these companies vary. Podsights is supposed to “help advertisers understand how podcast ads drive actions that matter to their businesses,” it says, while Chartable is meant to “make it easier for publishers to turn audience insights into action and expand their listenership while ultimately growing their businesses” with some of its existing tools.
The benefits of the Podsights acquisition won’t be limited to Spotify’s podcasting business, however. The company says it plans to “extend these measurement capabilities beyond podcasts to the full scope of the Spotify platform, including audio ads within music, video ads, and display ads.” (It seems that Chartable’s technologies will be used exclusively for podcasts.)
“We believe the opportunity for digital audio and podcast remains significant,” Spotify says. “With these acquisitions, we’re taking a big step in upleveling digital audio measurement and insights to help the entire industry scale to new heights.”
The company has made its commitment to the podcast market clear through acquisitions; reportedly paying more than $100 million for exclusive rights to “The Joe Rogan Experience” (and standing by him despite mounting criticism related to COVID misinformation); and introducing other only-on-Spotify podcasts.
