Spotify cuts jobs - for new podcast strategy
Spotify is cutting 200 jobs in its podcast division. The reason: a new strategy for the narrative audio formats.
At the beginning of the year there were redundancies at Spotify - now comes the next wave. This time, the podcast division is affected. As the company writes in its own blog, 200 jobs will be cut there. This is because, according to Sahar Elhabashi, Head of Podcast Business, the "next phase" of the company's podcast strategy is being initiated.
This is Spotify's new podcast strategy
In future, more partnerships with leading podcasters are to be expanded. And the company wants to better support artists - which can also be interpreted to mean that Spotify wants to focus less on its original podcasts in future.
In the blog, the streaming service goes on to explain that the aim is to operate in a way that is better tailored to the market - in other words, to increasingly serve the mass market, which is more advertising-friendly. To this end, the two Spotify production houses Parcast and Gimlet will be merged into one studio. Spotify writes in the blog: "Both studios will launch new shows with an increased focus on 'always-on' programming that attracts a strong, loyal audience and is attractive to advertisers."
And to achieve this, the company will have to say goodbye to two per cent of its employees - that's how many of the 200 jobs will be made up. Some podcasts were already discontinued last autumn. Nevertheless, Spotify is still the largest podcast platform with currently five million formats.
Cover photo: Livia Gamper
Testing devices and gadgets is my thing. Some experiments lead to interesting insights, others to demolished phones. I’m hooked on series and can’t imagine life without Netflix. In summer, you’ll find me soaking up the sun by the lake or at a music festival.