Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) shares are up 15.8% this week after Joe Rogan announced he will be taking his popular "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast exclusively to Spotify.On Tuesday afternoon, Rogan announced that his podcast will be available on Spotify starting Sept. 1 and exclusively on Spotify at the end of the year. The terms of the deal were not disclosed; the Rogan podcast is the latest in a series of moves Spotify has made to beef up its podcast streaming library in recent years.The Wall Street Journal reported that Rogan's licensing deal is worth more than $100 million over several years and includes all of his 11-year back catalogue of previous podcasts.The Financial Impact On Spotify Rosenblatt Securities analyst Mark Zgutowicz said Rogan could immediately make an impact on Spotify's numbers. Depending on how the deal is structured, Zgutowicz estimates Rogan could boost Spotify's 2021 revenue by between 0.5% and 3.8%."We believe SPOT has been trying to lure Rogan to an exclusive deal since at least 2018; management mentioned JRE is the most searched for podcast on its site," the analyst said in a note. Rogan's last 10 YouTube episodes have averaged 2 million views, excluding his interview with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, which drew more than 13 million.Wells Fargo's Take On Rogan, Spotify Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall said the "Joe Rogan Experience" likely has 190 million monthly downloads and a CPM of around $50."This is undoubtedly a coup for SPOT to get such a big show on an exclusive basis, and is a big stamp on the size of the platform and potentially its emerging ad tech," the analyst said. The potential $100-million price tag represents about 1% off Spotify's projected 2020 gross margin, but it's difficult to determine how much Rogan's exclusive content can boost user growth and music royalties, he said. Rosenblatt Securities has a Buy rating and $190 price target for Spotify. Wells Fargo has an Underweight rating and $130 target.Spotify shares were up 6.24% at $185.74 at the time of publication Wednesday. Benzinga's Take Spotify certainly took a gamble in forking over a reported $100 million for Rogan. The bullish initial market reaction suggests investors believe the price tag was well worth it, but it seems analysts will first need to see how many of Rogan's millions of viewers follow him to Spotify -- and how much of a financial impact they will have.Do you agree with this take? Email feedback@benzinga.com with your thoughts.Related Links:Global Music Revenue Set To Double By 2030 Despite Pandemic Impact: Goldman Sachs Report Spotify Scoops Up Joe Rogan And His Hugely Popular PodcastPhoto courtesy of Spotify.Latest Ratings for SPOT DateFirmActionFromTo Apr 2020Canaccord GenuityMaintainsBuy Apr 2020GuggenheimMaintainsNeutral Apr 2020UBSMaintainsBuy View More Analyst Ratings for SPOT View the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga * A Modern Retail Winner: Wall Street Bullish On Walmart Following Big Q1 * Here's What Martha Hart Thinks About Vince McMahon And Bret Hart * Here's How Much Investing ,000 In The 2014 Alibaba IPO Would Be Worth Today(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) the music streaming service, is removing the limits it has in place for the number of songs that can be saved. In an update on its community page, the tech stock said it began rolling out an unlimited library, which means the sky's the limit in terms of how many songs users can save. Previously Spotify capped its save limit at 10,000 songs.
Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) has made no secret of its efforts to dethrone Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in the world of podcasts, scooping up four start-ups over the past year and a half as part of its broader strategy and announcing a major exclusivity deal with Joe Rogan just this week. Considering the sheer size of Rogan's following, the pact has the potential to transform the economics of the podcasting ecosystem, as Spotify is reportedly paying over $100 million as part of the exclusive licensing agreement. Apple isn't going to sit still while Spotify tries to take a bite out of its podcasting business.
Over the last 18 months, Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) has been pushing to expand its platform from a music-streaming service to all types of audio. Podcasting has been a major focus, and led CEO Daniel Ek to acquire companies like Gimlet, Anchor, Parcast, and The Ringer, as well as sign exclusive contracts with big names like the Obamas. Spotify's latest deal could accelerate the growth of its podcast audience.
A whole new audience is about to experience Joe Rogan. The popular podcaster sold his 11-year-old “The Joe Rogan Experience” series to Spotify (SPOT) in a licensing deal that’s reportedly worth more than $100 million, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Rogan’s full library — which adds up to almost 1,500 episodes, which weren’t available on the streaming service before — will hit Spotify beginning Sept. 1.
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. is ramping up its push into original podcasts by seeking an executive to lead the initiative and buying shows that would be exclusive to its services.The technology giant has begun acquiring two types of original podcasts, according to people familiar with the matter: one category is audio spinoffs of existing movies and programs on its Apple TV+ service, and the other is original programs that could eventually be adapted into future TV+ video content.The company is seeking a leader for its original podcast work who would report to Ben Cave, its head of podcasting, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the effort isn’t yet public.The move should help Apple promote its fledgling TV+ service, as well as defend the company against Spotify Technology SA’s aggressive move into podcasts. While Apple remains the dominant distributor of such programs in the U.S., Spotify has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in studios and original shows. The company, already the world’s leading paid music streamer, has boosted its share of podcast listening.Apple, based in Cupertino, California, declined to comment.In the industry, podcast producers are waiting for Apple to put more of its money into the medium. So far, it’s just dipping its toe into original podcasts -- nothing like the massive bet that Spotify is placing on the category.About 37% of U.S. adults listen to podcasts on a monthly basis, according to Edison Research, but the industry still generates less than $1 billion in advertising sales.Even if podcasting never becomes a big moneymaker for Apple, it could help support its trove of intellectual property, said Rich Greenfield, an analyst at LightShed Partners. Audio offshoots of shows for TV+ would largely be marketing for the platform, which the company is hoping will further boost its services revenue over time.“The audio consumption market, and the ability to use intellectual property to transform into other forms of IP, is really interesting,” he said.Apple was one of the first technology players to popularize podcasting, adding the medium to iTunes 15 years ago. Since then, it’s been building out features for podcast listening on its devices.Rogan PodcastBut Spotify is also on move. On Tuesday, it acquired the exclusive rights to Joe Rogan’s podcast, which consistently ranks as one of the five most popular shows on Apple. Spotify has also has purchased the Ringer, which owns Bill Simmons’s sports podcast; Gimlet Media, producer of the show “Reply All”; and Parcast, a producer of many popular true-crime shows.Bloomberg News first reported last year that Apple planned to bankroll original podcasts and reported earlier this year on the plan to make original podcasts out of Apple TV+ shows.Separate from its work on originals, Apple has asked some producers working on podcasts to provide versions of their offerings without advertisements, which fits into TV+’s ad-free approach. Apple has shunned advertisements in most of its services, including its Music and Arcade platforms, but features ads in the App Store and its free tier of Apple News.Though the popularity of podcasts has surged in recent years, they’re suffering a hiccup during the pandemic. Many people listen to the shows during their commutes, and with so many people in lockdown, use has declined, according to Podtrac.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Digital media companies have understood podcasts for years. Now tech giants are getting in late, but bringing big dollars to buy instant footholds.
Michael Bosstick, Dear Media CEO, joined Yahoo Finance's Jen Rogers, Dan Roberts, and Rick Newman to discuss his outlook for the podcast sector and his plans for Dear Media this year.
Lara Spencer reports the buzziest stories of the day in "GMA" Pop News.
Regardless of how you feel about Joe Rogan, one simple fact is indisputable: The comedian-turned-podcaster has a massive audience. Spotify has spent the past year fleshing out its podcasting strategy, challenging Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) long-standing dominance in podcast distribution. Part of that initiative entails securing original content for the platform, and in no uncertain terms JRE will become the biggest exclusive podcast for Spotify's audio-streaming platform.
Spotify announced this morning it's removing the content cap on the app's "Your Library," allowing users to now save an unlimited number of songs, albums and podcasts to their collection of favorites. The change addresses a top user complaint since 2014 which, to date, had received more than 12,500 votes on Spotify's Community Ideas Exchange forum.
Amazon is looking to invest in localized podcast content like news and sports, according to a media report. The company is using its venture arm tied to voice innovation, Alexa Fund, to invest in local podcast companies, according to Axios. Amazon has evaluated investing in localized sports podcast companies like Blue Wire, Axios said, citing a source.
Joe Rogan, podcast provocateur, announced this week he would take his act to Spotify. Other podcasters will take note. The 20-something women behind wildly popular and risqué Call Her Daddy podcast are already off air as they feud with bosses at Barstool Sports over their deal.
Carvana (NYSE: CVNA), Spotify (NYSE: SPOT), and Zillow Group (NASDAQ: ZG)(NASDAQ: Z) are three high-growth stocks that are just getting started. Carvana is the country's third-largest retailer of used cars, but its business model is completely different than that of traditional car dealers. For starters, it doesn't even have dealership locations.
Following news of Joe Rogan’s move to Spotify, Rosenblatt analyst Mark Zgutowicz crunched some numbers to assess how much of a boost the deal — which is reportedly worth $100 million — will bring to the streaming service. The Final Round panel discusses.
The streaming audio platform further expands its podcast empire with the addition of the comedian's popular show.
Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) just acquired what is arguably the most influential podcast on the air today. The streaming music site has reportedly signed Joe Rogan in a $100 million deal that will see his entire 11-year content library migrate to Spotify where it will be available exclusively and the podcast will no longer appear on YouTube. Rogan has become one of the biggest, most influential podcasters since he launched the Joe Rogan Experience in 2009.
Harvey Mason Jr., Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy joins The Final Round to discuss the MusiCares COVID-19 relief fund and how coronavirus is impacting the music industry.
Spotify this week joined a growing number of tech giants expanding their work from home policies as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drag on. While not as radical as Twitter’s recent decision to let staff work from home forever, the music streaming service’s move does represent increased openness to the arrangement. The streaming service is headquartered in Stockholm, with a number of regional offices, including New York, London and Tokyo.
Shares of Spotify Technology SA are down 0.4% in Tuesday morning trading after Axios reported that Amazon.com Inc. was interested in investing in localized podcast content. The report said that sports content was "top of mind" for the e-commerce giant as it looks to pair the audio programming with the video rights to live sports. Amazon is also interested in news content so that it has "short-form audio content" that it can present users who ask relevant questions to its Alexa voice assistant. Amazon declined to comment on its plans. Spotify has been getting more serious about its podcasting ambitions and it recently scooped up the exclusive rights to comic Joe Rogan's podcast in a multi-year deal reportedly worth more than $100 million. Spotify shares have added 35% over the past three months as the S&P 500 has dropped 3.3%.