Spotify’s Podcast Woes Continue with Another Round of Layoffs and Controversial Joe Rogan Deal

Two of the podcast production houses that Spotify bought in recent years, Gimlet and Parcast, will merge into its own organization Spotify Studios, according to a message that appeared on the company’s website on Monday. A third production house, The Ringer, may continue to exist. 200 jobs disappear. Spotify puts into perspective that it only concerns 2% of the total staff of the entire company. In January, 600 jobs were cut. Then Dawn Ostroff, who determined Spotify’s podcast strategy, was also sent walking.

Since 2019, Spotify has invested around a billion euros in podcasting. The company paid high amounts for exclusive contracts with big names such as Prince Harry, Kim Kardashian and Barack Obama, but that did not lead to major new hits.

Spotify continues to score with its most controversial transfer: bringing in the controversial Joe Rogan for, reportedly, around 200 million euros. The Joe Rogan experience still attracts many listeners, but it is not known whether the Swedish company really makes money from that deal.

Gimlet, now defunct, was acquired in 2019 for $230 million. The production house had a strong reputation and won a Pulitzer Prize for it this year Stolen: surviving St. Michael’s.

The American writers’ union WGA reacts sharply: ‘When Spotify bought Gimlet and Parcast for almost $ 300 million, they acquired an incredible group of talented people with specific and marketable skills. Then they squandered that opportunity: they cut shows with loyal audiences, let half-finished projects fall into disrepair, and gave the teams little guidance on what was expected of them. Spotify made many shows exclusively on their own platform, which limited the potential income of the studios.