Spotify in Talks to Buy Gimlet Media

https://www.wsj.com/articles/spotify-in-talks-to-buy-gimlet-media-11549062083

by mudil • 7 years ago

71 36 7 years ago

wsj.com

scarface748• 7 years ago

If Gimlet media starts putting all of their podcasts only on Spotify they will lose me as a listener.

Otherwise, I’ll be really happy for Gimlet. I’ve listen to Startup since day one.

zachwood• 7 years ago

Same. I'd really miss Reply All.

throwaway427• 7 years ago

Theoretically I am sympathetic, but in reality I have 3 different podcast apps:

1. Overcast, great usability, terrible discoverability

2. Apple Podcast, bad usability, excellent discoverability

3. Spotify, ok usability, ok discoverability

The reason I have not unified on any one is these different trade offs and the low burden to having 3 different podcast apps. I only use Spotify for the Fantasy Footballers podcast and I can see myself unifying on Spotify if they became the sole distributor of a couple of casts I follow.

Which is to say, in practice, I do not share your conviction.

cco2• 7 years ago

Ever tried Pocket Cast? Carries Fantasy Footballers and has pretty good discoverability and search and great usability. Also offers cloud service, for an upcharge, to let you sync with a web player for your PC as well.

petercooper• 7 years ago

Intriguingly, I've found more good podcasts through Overcast recently than almost anywhere else.. via their ads which are so high quality and well targeted that they work as a discovery mechanism.

redisman• 7 years ago

iTunes on desktop is probably the worst Podcasting app

hackerbrother• 7 years ago

Google podcasts seems to have everything

bastawhiz3• 7 years ago

I run a podcast hosting company, if I had a nickel for every customer that couldn't find _their own show_ on Spotify, I could lower my prices. Discoverability on Spotify is not optimal.

tomjakubowski• 7 years ago

Wow, thank you for the Overcast recommendation. The UX is indeed great. A small thing I especially love is that, while you need to "create an account" to use it, you can do so on mobile without having to hand over an email address and create a password. Hallelujah.

fargo• 7 years ago

Looks like Spotify is going the Netflix way, becoming a content creator. I wonder if that means they will try to create music as well. They sure have the data.

bdibs• 7 years ago

Absolutely, signing artists and acting as their label and main (exclusive?) distributor could work out pretty well for them.

lenticular• 7 years ago

To me, this seems like a promisingly model for podcasters once startup mattresses, meal delivery services, etc, get tired of advertising with them. Patreon doesn't work for smaller ones.

ascorbic• 7 years ago

The reaction to this idea is usually that they'd not want to alert the other labels and risk them pulling their content.

52358• 7 years ago

I think they have already? https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWTUm9HjVUKnL

jccalhoun• 7 years ago

From a business standpoint I think they would be smart to follow Netflix's lead. I don't know how accurate it is but people say Netflix uses all their analytics to drive their content production. I can easily see Spotify using all the data on which songs people listen to all the way through and which they turn off half way through to try to make some computer written hit songs.

Of course Theodor Adorno would turn over in his grave when that happens (as if it basically wasn't already happening).

FTA• 7 years ago

They have been. It may just not be completely visible beyond their Live at Spotify recordings (which, from the copyrights on those albums, I imagine Spotify still has to pay close to the same royalties for).

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotify-is-creating-i...

sketchthat3• 7 years ago

Gimlet has only done two rounds of raising haven't they? What kind of valuation do you think they would be chasing?

sketchthat3• 7 years ago

Apparently $230M https://twitter.com/nwquah/status/1091496410392875008?s=19

sketchthat3• 7 years ago

Done a few more rounds than I realised. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/gimlet-media#section...

joegahona• 7 years ago

Looks like Outline doesn't work for WSJ anymore. Does anyone have a non-paywall link? I'm unwilling to pay for the Wall Street Journal.

scarface748• 7 years ago

Just change wsj to fullwsj...

https://www.fullwsj.com/articles/spotify-in-talks-to-buy-gim...

dvelopment1• 7 years ago

It did not work for me...paywall is still there :-(

talltimtom• 7 years ago

As a listerne og the Starup podcast almost since the begining that would be such a wonderful “end” to the tale. “And they bought by a giant and everyone lived happily ever after”. Also from a Historical point of view it’s such a great line of podcasts chronicaling first hand the actual struggles from inception to exit.

Spotify in Talks to Buy Gimlet Media

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