Spotify sees tremendous potential in the podcast game, so much in fact that it announced today (Feb 6) the acquisition of Gimlet Media & Anchor.

The purchase of the New York-based podcast network home of popular shows such as Reply All, StartUp, Crimetown and The Pitch was expected by many. Spotify acquiring Anchor was a bit of a surprise but a good one especially for podcast creators who tackle recording, publishing and managing their own shows. WIth both power moves, the music streaming giant hopes to position itself as “both the premier producer of podcasts and the leading platform for podcast creators.”

As for the terms of the deals, the Swedish company did not disclose that information but did state it expects both of them to close this quarter. Speaking on the moves, Spotify’s co-founder and CEO Daniel EK added:

“These acquisitions will meaningfully accelerate our path to becoming the world’s leading audio platform, give users around the world access to the best podcast content, and improve the quality of our listening experience as well as enhance the Spotify brand. We are proud to welcome Gimlet and Anchor to the Spotify team, and we look forward to what we will accomplish together.”

The announcement of the acquisitions comes on the heels of the company also revealing it has earned a profit for the first time ever. In its fourth-quarter earnings, Spotify reported it has 207 million active users an increase from 191 million last quarter. Premium subscribers got a bump from 87 million to 97 million while ad-based users rose from 109 million to 116 million. Those positive gains helped the company pull in €1.5 billion (roughly $1.7 billion) and a quarterly operating profit of €94 million (approximately $107 million).

Can Spotify continue to build off this momentum and keep direct competitors like Apple and Tidal at bay is the question? Acquiring Gimlet and Anchor are definitely steps that should help create distance between the streaming giants.

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Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty

 

Source: HipHopWired.com

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