Audio streaming. Spotify, the world’s most popular music streaming service, announced that it is to acquire Gimlet Media, the award-winning podcasting company. Gimlet was founded in 2014 and is based in Brooklyn, New York. Rumoured price is more than $200m. Spotify also acquired the podcasting app Anchor. Gimlet co-founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber spoke to Peter Kafka of Recode Media just hours after the sale was officially announced. Lieber said they did consider that, given the success of its hit shows like StartUp and Reply All, Gimlet might be able to “navigate the stormy seas of media” and remain independent. But ultimately, they decided that was a risk, and Spotify had more to offer. “We looked at the path of joining a large platform with global distribution and, you know, multiple billion dollars of revenue and data and discovery and an amazing technology platform that was invested in audio,” Lieber said. “And for us, that felt like a better path where we could realize our ambitions and our goals. And also, make money back for our investors and provide a healthy return.” In 2017, Spotify’s revenue was some €4bn, up from €2.95bn in the previous year.
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Spotify acquires Gimlet podcasting
