Spotify recently unveiled a brand new analytic tool for podcasters, now the Swedish audio entertainment platform is proving its commitment to the rising medium. The company has been testing implementations for Anchor within its broader business for the first time by challenging its users to create a podcast.
Anchor was a company Spotify acquired earlier this year in a reported $400 million purchase along with Podcast media house Gimlet and advanced audio-software Soundtrap. The app is already the top player and is designed with such an ease that anyone using a basic smartphone device can start a podcast and share it everywhere online.
In the Spotify app the option to ‘Create A Podcast’ appeared on the Podcast section under Shows with a UX that looks similar to how you might create a playlist in the music side of the app. Upon clicking we are taken to a page for Anchor the app, So why would Spotify push it to listeners?
Well for starters, it’s planting the spark for any potential podcast host to use Anchor, it’s essentially a great in-app ad for Spotify’s shiny new member of the family. Many of the biggest Podcasts started out as more home-studio jobs by people who also loved podcasts so they are reaching a relevant audience.
While Anchor makes recording a show easy for us, doing so will potentially enable Spotify to identify the best new podcasts and make them exclusive to the platform through special deals such as Dissect and Joe Budden.
Another possible reason is that currently, many shows fund themselves through their own individual sponsors or production houses. Spotify doesn’t serve Ads in podcasts, but once it controls the flow of shows it might it can tap into Gimlets already existing set up to monetise shows on a DIY way like it runs its music content.
