Spotify, the Swedish audio streaming platform, has acquired Parcast, a podcast network- storytelling studio.
Chief Content Office for Spotify Dawn Ostroff says, “Parcast will enable to grow the podcast content in an audio platform.” Ostroff continued, “Crime and mystery podcasts are a genre for users, and Parcast creates web series.”
Spotify’s CFO Barry McCarthy says, “The company is modeled after Netflix in that it’ll develop good, predictive algorithms.” Spotify did not need a sophisticated algorithm to tell it something; it had listening data to help make its purchasing decision.
“Parcast’s production model, allows the company to produce a high volume of shows that keep feeding for crime stories.” Spotify head of studios Courtney Holt says.
The acquisition of Gimlet and now Parcast by Spotify is a strategic push by the company to expand its inroads into other forms of audio entertainment. It is reported that these podcast-related deals have cost the company up to $500 million.
