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We reached out to Blubrry CEO, and PBJ Editorial Board Member, Todd Cochrane to get his reaction to the blockbuster Spotify deal. Here’s what he told us…
Cochrane says this is good for the industry and for Gimlet and it puts Anchor in the hands of a company that wants to advance the space. “The Podcasting space is growing, not consolidating. Each acquisition validates the space and makes it easier for advertisers to see the value of podcasts. In addition, new players come into the space every day and new shows are created every day. Because of this growth through consolidation, for advertisers to go all in they will be looking for transparent podcast measurement, from certified sources which we have been a leader in.
PBJ: What do you think this means for podcasting? Cochrane: I and others have been predicting these types of deals for some time. I believe the podcasting space as a whole has been undervalued. Those of us that create podcast understand the power of the content and the relationships all podcasters have with their audiences know we have direct connections to the 100’s of millions of listeners globally.
PBJ: Are you surprised that Anchor was purchased? Cochrane: Anchor has a low barrier to entry that has created somewhat inflated claims that they are the leader in podcast hosting. They may have, in quantity, a large number of shows, but they also have an incredibly high number of shows in the 10’s of thousands that are DOA. They have also had a lower number of new shows kicking off in the peak show creation period annually so this acquisition probably came at a good time.
PBJ: What will the Anchor deal mean for podcasters who are on Anchor? Cochrane: Podcasters should expect change. I’m sure for now it will be business as usual and I am sure we will see some interesting developments. But with any acquisition, there will be a change of business model and staff as the business model is examined. Losing money would not be the goal of Spotify. This should shake out over the next year.
PBJ: Who’s next to be sold? Cochrane: There are only so many deals out there that can demand significant investment. If you look at the remaining big players in the space. SoundCloud - publicly owned, investors LibSyn - public company, profitable PodBean - privately owned, profitable Blubrry - privately owned, profitable
I cannot speculate but if Gimlet got $230 million as reported then we will likely see some more mega deals happen. After all, there are companies like mine and others that actually have 10’s of thousands of viable shows reaching 100’s of millions of listeners.
Comments:
Leaving a comment on my own post. In the final sentence, it should say “After all there are companies like mine and others that work with 10’s of thousands of viable shows reaching 100’s of millions of listeners.” After all, we do not own shows we work with.