{"id":217742,"date":"2019-03-26T05:40:26","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T12:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&#038;p=217742"},"modified":"2024-05-10T05:57:04","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T12:57:04","slug":"spotify-podcast-acquisitions","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/spotify-podcast-acquisitions","title":{"rendered":"Location in Focus as Spotify Expands"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1001,791],"tags":[281,328692,328682],"department":[488812],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-217742","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commercial","category-digital-transformation","tag-location-intelligence","tag-media","tag-podcasting","department-emerging-technologies"],"acf":{"short_description":"The digital audio giant uses location intelligence to deliver value to listeners and advertisers.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"With 200 million audio streaming users around the world, 96 million of whom are paying subscribers, Spotify has been credited with giving new life to the music industry. Over the past two years, the company has diversified, quietly becoming the second-largest podcasting platform behind Apple Music."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"<strong>Article Snapshot:<\/strong>\u00a0As podcast audiences and revenue grow, Spotify makes two key acquisitions, opening new opportunities to connect listeners with location-specific content.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/06\/business\/dealbook\/spotify-gimlet-anchor-podcasts.html\">recent acquisitions<\/a> have further fueled that expansion. In February, Spotify bought Gimlet, which produces original podcast content, and Anchor, which makes podcast creation tools.\r\n\r\nProducing original content is not new\u2014Netflix has made it a tenet of its business model, and others are expanding their roles from content distributors to content creators. With its move into podcasting creation, Spotify is betting on the medium\u2019s growth, high profit margins, and monetization possibilities.\r\n\r\nAs it does, Spotify may find that location data plays a key role in optimizing user experience. Even on digital platforms, physical location influences user preferences and provides valuable clues that can be used to attract and retain new customers.\r\n\r\n<strong>Capturing Growth with Analytics<\/strong>\r\n\r\nPodcast listeners are a new and valuable audience. Spotify estimates that its podcast users spend twice as much time on the platform as music listeners. Unique podcast programming could draw new users who might not have previously considered joining Spotify. It could also entice existing users to upgrade to the company\u2019s paid Premium service.\r\n\r\nUS podcast advertising revenue <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iab.com\/insights\/the-second-annual-podcast-revenue-study-by-iab-and-pwc-an-analysis-of-the-largest-players-in-the-podcasting-industry\/\">is predicted to grow<\/a> to $659 million by 2020\u2014a jump of more than 110 percent over 2017 ad revenue. Spotify is positioning itself to leverage that growth by applying robust data analytics and customization algorithms to podcasting."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"<h2>Curves in the Road, Curves in the Music<\/h2>\r\nMany people associate certain songs with certain places. Now a group of software developers are tailoring music to the terrain. Their app <a href=\"https:\/\/devpost.com\/software\/bettermusic\">uses GIS data to create playlists<\/a> that match smooth, flat terrain or rugged, hilly topography. Road trips may never be the same.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Spotify already uses demographic data and location analytics in its music business to help creators understand and engage their audience. Spotify shows artists where their fans are to help generate ideas for marketing, promotion, and tour planning. Visualizing the geographic locations of listeners on a map provides instant insight that raw data alone doesn\u2019t typically deliver.\r\n\r\nNow Spotify will be able to do the same for podcasts. Podcast creators could use Spotify\u2019s location data to drive engagement, for instance. They might interview a guest from a location with a high concentration of listeners. Or they could plan a speaking engagement in that locale.\r\n\r\nAdvertisers, meanwhile, can increase their impact. Using demographic data from a modern geographic information system (GIS), marketers can identify where their target markets might live. Then, they can map those locations to relevant podcasts.\r\n\r\nAds can be built into the beginning, middle, and end of podcasts, played to everyone who listens to that episode. Alternately, ads can be rotated algorithmically to match the locations and demographics of listeners. In either model, GIS-driven <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/location-intelligence\">location intelligence<\/a> can be used to identify target audiences, a tactic that\u2019s proven effective for advertisers even in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/star-tribune-serves-as-a-gis-consultant-and-research-partner\/\">print publications.<\/a>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":217732,"text":"Even for companies whose customers are digital natives, physical location can be a potent tool for understanding how to deliver the perfect user experience.","author_name":"","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<strong>Data Leads to Discovery<\/strong>\r\n\r\nOne of podcasting\u2019s historical issues has been discovery. How do people find the podcasts that interest them? How do creators reach new listeners?\r\n\r\nLike Netflix does for video content, Spotify uses advanced analytics, including location intelligence, to predict the kind of music listeners might like. For <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.spotify.com\/2019-02-26\/spotify-launches-in-india\/\">its India launch<\/a>, Spotify supported multiple regional languages, curated both Indian music and international music playlists popular in India, and introduced location-specific content like Bollywood and Punjabi movie soundtracks. The company now tracks and shares trending content in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi."},{"acf_fc_layout":"form","form_type":"aside","form_position":"Right","form_title":"THE ESRI BRIEF","form_desc":"Tap into a biweekly email that connects senior executives with thought-provoking articles on location intelligence and critical technology trends.","form_button_label":"Sign up now","form_content":"https:\/\/go.pardot.com\/l\/82202\/2017-10-12\/jw1bmb","form_tag":"low-commitment-form\/sign-up-form"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Those discovery algorithms could be used to recommend podcasts that subscribers are likely to enjoy. The data could even be used to help plan original content\u2014predicting what type of podcasts might be worthy of investment (and therefore a priority for Gimlet).\r\n\r\nSpotify could take the recommendations one step further, creating GIS-powered geofences (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/burger-king-marketing-campaign\/\">as Burger King did for its recent marketing effort<\/a>) to alert users about podcasts related to their location. An episode on Italian architecture might be recommended for someone traveling through Rome, or a sports commentary on the New England Patriots might appear for residents of Boston.\r\n\r\nSpotify may be known for the digitization of audio, but the physical location of listeners, creators, and now podcast content provides valuable insight that helps deliver value, increase engagement, and drive revenue."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Spotify Acquisitions of Gimlet, Anchor, Hint at Location-Based Opportunities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Spotify adds two podcasting acquisitions, using location analytics to add value, increase engagement, and drive revenue.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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