The Verge: All Posts by Ashley Carmanhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2022-03-22T09:30:00-04:00https://www.theverge.com/authors/ashley-carman/rss2022-03-22T09:30:00-04:002022-03-22T09:30:00-04:00How SiriusXM bought and bungled a beloved podcast network
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<p>SiriusXM leapt into podcasts with a $325 million deal — insiders say it’s off to a messy start</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/22989201/siriusxm-podcasts-earwolf-stitcher-acquisition-hosts-employees-leaving">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/22989201/siriusxm-podcasts-earwolf-stitcher-acquisition-hosts-employees-leavingAshley Carman2022-02-17T16:03:14-05:002022-02-17T16:03:14-05:00Spotify reportedly paid $200 million for Joe Rogan’s podcast
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<figcaption>Photo by Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="vt670f">Spotify reportedly paid Joe Rogan at least $200 million to commit to podcasting on the platform exclusively for three and a half years, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/17/arts/music/spotify-joe-rogan-misinformation.html"><em>New York Times</em> report</a>. That number, while astronomical, is double what had previously been reported <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/spotify-strikes-exclusive-podcast-deal-with-joe-rogan-11589913814">in <em>The Wall Street Journal</em></a> as Rogan’s deal price — $100 million — and has continued to be used widely in the media without correction from Spotify’s team.</p>
<p id="uUW1Z6">This news comes after a volatile month for the audio company and one in which musicians, podcasters, employees, and the medical community scrutinized the company’s work with the controversial podcaster. In January, a group of medical community members penned a letter to the company asking it to remove a Rogan episode they said peddled...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/17/22939587/joe-rogan-experience-spotify-podcast-deal">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/17/22939587/joe-rogan-experience-spotify-podcast-dealAshley Carman2022-02-17T12:22:24-05:002022-02-17T12:22:24-05:00Spotify wants to beat YouTube at audio
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<figcaption>Alex Castro / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="8iJ53G"><em>This story originally ran in Hot Pod, The Verge’s preeminent audio industry newsletter. You can subscribe </em><a href="https://hotpodnews.com/subscribe/"><em>here</em></a><em> for more scoops, analysis, and reporting.</em></p>
<p id="9fAbTW">Spotify <a href="https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-02-16/spotify-acquires-podsights-and-chartable-to-advance-podcast-measurement-for-advertisers-and-insights-for-publishers/">announced yesterday</a> its acquisition of Podsights and Chartable, two companies known for tracking pixels that allow marketers, advertisers, and podcasters to measure the success of their shows. This is a big deal, to state the obvious, if for no other reason than if podcasters have avoided Spotify’s podcast world up until now, well, they’re probably going to have to start engaging. Both these platforms are critical to the space to show advertisers that their marketing is being heard and acted upon and that podcast ads are effective and worthy of a budget. </p>
<p id="yOuaEO">As for its plans,...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/17/22939137/spotify-google-youtube-podsights-chartable-acquisitions">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/17/22939137/spotify-google-youtube-podsights-chartable-acquisitionsAshley Carman2022-02-16T16:09:01-05:002022-02-16T16:09:01-05:00Spotify is acquiring two major podcast tech platforms
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<figcaption>Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="t1aAEM">Spotify is making more podcast acquisitions. The company <a href="https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-02-16/spotify-acquires-podsights-and-chartable-to-advance-podcast-measurement-for-advertisers-and-insights-for-publishers/">announced today</a> it’s acquiring both Chartable and Podsights — two of the most prominent podcast marketing and ad attribution companies. The deal price hasn’t been disclosed, but this marks the first major acquisition the company has made this year in a long line of audio purchases.</p>
<p id="3Kgky0">Both Podsights and Chartable allow podcasters and networks to include tags in their shows that are used to track who listened, if they heard an ad, and whether they took action upon hearing it. Spotify says it plans to use Podsights’ technology outside podcasting and will bring it to the “full scope of the Spotify platform, including audio ads within music, video ads, and display ads.” The Chartable...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/16/22937826/spotify-podsights-chartable-acquisitions-podcast-marketing-platforms">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/16/22937826/spotify-podsights-chartable-acquisitions-podcast-marketing-platformsAshley Carman2022-02-15T10:31:15-05:002022-02-15T10:31:15-05:00Spotify’s COVID problems are bigger than Joe Rogan
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<figcaption>Photo by Michele Doying / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="AaCvWs">Wow, we’re already mid-way through February, and Hot Pod Summit is next week. It’s been a marathon over here, not including my <em>Love Is Blind</em> binge time. Today, we have various stories all connected around the idea of money — making and spending it. Let’s get right to it.</p>
<p id="2RfgAp"><strong>This week’s Rogan check-in</strong></p>
<p id="WVyq48">Though Hurricane Rogan has mostly passed over, related stories continue to trickle out. The first comes from <em>The Guardian</em>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/feb/13/dont-take-the-damn-thing-how-spotify-playlists-push-dangerous-anti-vaccine-tunes">which reports</a> that multiple Spotify playlists pushed listeners to anti-vaccine music after they had already listened to similar content. The songs “encourage people not to get vaccinated and say those who do are ‘slaves,’ ‘sheep,’ and victims of Satan,” the publication says. “Others call for an uprising, urging listeners to...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/15/22934779/spotify-covid-vaccine-music-moderation-hot-pod">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/15/22934779/spotify-covid-vaccine-music-moderation-hot-podAshley Carman2022-02-10T14:07:09-05:002022-02-10T14:07:09-05:00Amazon Music signs an exclusive deal with How I Built This
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<figcaption>Photo by Joshua Yospyn/For The Washington Post via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="lYjDS6">Amazon Music has signed <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/1079830094/wondery-and-npr-announce-a-licensing-agreement-for-how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz">an exclusive deal</a> with NPR to distribute Guy Raz’s <em>How I Built This </em>podcast<em> </em>a week before any other platform starting in March. The show will be produced twice weekly, an increase from its once-a-week cadence, and available early through Amazon Music and Wondery Plus. After that one-week window, the episodes will be released widely both on podcast platforms and radio stations. Wondery will also receive the exclusive ad sales rights and YouTube distribution rights, while NPR will maintain the radio distribution rights and underwriting.</p>
<p id="Ejv02n">In an internal memo to NPR staff obtained by <em>The Verge</em>, Anya Grundmann, SVP of programming, and John Lansing, CEO and president, write that the deal is the “first of its kind for...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/10/22927550/amazon-music-guy-raz-wondery-how-i-built-this">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/10/22927550/amazon-music-guy-raz-wondery-how-i-built-thisAshley Carman2022-02-08T11:58:01-05:002022-02-08T11:58:01-05:00Spotify’s CEO mistakes company growth for a mission statement
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<figcaption>Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="8iJ53G"><em>This story originally ran in Hot Pod, The Verge’s preeminent audio industry newsletter. You can subscribe </em><a href="https://hotpodnews.com/subscribe/"><em>here</em></a><em> for more scoops, analysis, and reporting.</em></p>
<p id="QxrGfO">Let’s pick up with the news last week that Spotify hosted an internal town hall during which CEO Daniel Ek addressed his staff around the world. I obtained the audio from that meeting, and you can read the transcript in full <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/3/22915456/spotify-ceo-joe-rogan-daniel-ek-town-hall-speech-platform-podcast">here</a>. (Over the weekend, there was also a second twist in the Rogan story involving a viral video of the comedian using the n-word many times. You can read all about that <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/5/22919271/spotify-joe-rogan-experience-slur-planet-of-the-apes">here</a> and Spotify’s response <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/6/22921203/spotify-joe-rogan-episode-removal-internal-memo">here</a>. And then my take <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/7/22921608/spotify-joe-rogan-moderation-guidelines-episode-deletion">here</a>. Links, we got ‘em.)</p>
<p id="G5uvLg">Today, though, I want to focus on Ek’s message to his employees, some of whom have concerns about Spotify’s choice to...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/8/22923525/spotify-daniel-ek-mission-statement-talent-recruitment">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/8/22923525/spotify-daniel-ek-mission-statement-talent-recruitmentAshley Carman2022-02-07T14:13:59-05:002022-02-07T14:13:59-05:00Spotify is more confused about Joe Rogan than ever
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<p id="cozt7i">The Joe Rogan situation at Spotify keeps getting more confused. </p>
<p id="xTUZNm">As the situation has evolved, so has the company’s treatment of its star podcaster. One day, it says it’s a hands-off platform that treats all creators the same. The next, it admits to having backdoor discussions with Rogan and pulling episodes due to outrage over language used on the show. The whiplash undermines Spotify’s narrative about how it interacts with Rogan and other podcasters and offers a window into the delicate relationship between Rogan and the company that depends on him to stay differentiated. Let’s dive into where things aren’t lining up.</p>
<p id="zZpHAy">Spotify has reiterated multiple times now that it considers itself merely a platform for podcasts — despite paying...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/7/22921608/spotify-joe-rogan-moderation-guidelines-episode-deletion">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/7/22921608/spotify-joe-rogan-moderation-guidelines-episode-deletionAshley Carman2022-02-06T22:21:43-05:002022-02-06T22:21:43-05:00Spotify CEO Daniel Ek confirms removal of Joe Rogan episodes after n-word video resurfaces
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<p id="030lGU">Spotify CEO Daniel Ek addressed staff in a late night memo addressing Joe Rogan’s use of the n-word and the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/22918697/joe-rogan-experience-podcast-episodes-disappear-controversy">mysterious removal</a> of 70 podcast episodes earlier this week. The total number of deleted Joe Rogan Experience episodes is now 113, according to the website jremissing.com.</p>
<p id="cJcd9l">“Not only are some of Joe Rogan’s comments incredibly hurtful — I want to make clear that they do not represent the values of this company,” Ek writes in the memo, which <em>The Verge</em> obtained. “I know this situation leaves many of you feeling drained, frustrated and unheard.”</p>
<p id="aufHGV">He goes on to say Spotify spoke with Rogan and his team about “some of the content in his show, including his history of using some racially insensitive language.” Following these chats “and...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/6/22921203/spotify-joe-rogan-episode-removal-internal-memo">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/6/22921203/spotify-joe-rogan-episode-removal-internal-memoAshley Carman2022-02-03T09:11:31-05:002022-02-03T09:11:31-05:00Spotify CEO defends Joe Rogan deal in tense company town hall
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<figcaption>Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="2M8BQm">Spotify CEO Daniel Ek addressed employees about the Joe Rogan controversy in a 15-minute speech yesterday, of which <em>The Verge </em>obtained audio, defending the company’s choice to work with Rogan, explaining its reasoning, and defining why he believes Spotify is a combination of a platform and a publisher. Employees had been skeptically awaiting the discussion at the company’s regular town hall meeting for nearly a week: since things had escalated with Joe Rogan, the company’s star exclusive podcaster, employees had been venting inside the corporate messaging system and awaiting a response from leadership about why it chose <em>The Joe Rogan Experience</em> <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/26/22903354/spotify-joe-rogan-removing-neil-young-music">over Neil Young</a>, setting off a domino effect of other musicians and podcasters pulling content...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/3/22915456/spotify-ceo-joe-rogan-daniel-ek-town-hall-speech-platform-podcast">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/3/22915456/spotify-ceo-joe-rogan-daniel-ek-town-hall-speech-platform-podcastAshley Carman