Spotify’s $1 Billion Podcast Bet Turns Into a Serial Drama
The prospect of podcast riches led to aggressive investments in celebrity deals and original programming for what appeared a sky’s-the-limit media frontier
Spotify spent more than $1 billion to build a podcasting empire. It struck splashy deals with Kim Kardashian, the Obamas and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. It paid $286 million for a pair of podcast studios and spent $250,000 and more an episode on exclusive shows to lure new listeners.
The bet hasn’t paid off.
Most of its shows aren’t profitable, according to people familiar with the matter, and the company has recently cut staff and programming to slow its losses. The company, which has struggled to report consistent profits, lost €527 million, equivalent to about $565 million, in the six months ending in June, on €6.2 billion in revenue.
No one in the business is making much money on podcasts, but Spotify, which has spent far more on the medium than its rivals, has more to lose than most. Spotify’s competitors, including Amazon, Apple and Google, tech behemoths with their own audiostreaming services, have other, more profitable businesses.
Source: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/spotify-podcast-gimlet-harry-meghan-kardashian-59866a5d
[link] [comments] https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/16as3pc/spotify_spent_more_than_1_billion_to_build_a/
Login to add comment
Other posts in this group
Please use this thread to discuss your portfolio, learn of other stock tickers, and help out users by giving constructive criticism.
Why quarterly? Public comp
When you sell a stock to buy another stock, do you prefer to set the estimated amount of the capital gains taxes aside in a money market or do you think it better to
Saving for retirement is crucial, but relying solely on a 401(k) might not be enough due to high inflation. Consider investing in growth stocks, especially in the tec
I’m think this is not a good investment as there is no chatter at all on the 52 week low. They are involved in a class action lawsuits by investors and credit card co
Sorry if this is the wrong sub. Let’s say I had $1 million in VOO but I wanted to sell half of it to buy SCHD. It would suck to pay taxes on $500k. So how would you g
Hey guys, I did a deep dive into Crocs. In this analysis, I will do a brief breakdown of the company and go over some quantitative data, qualitative data and estimate