We all know that podcasts have been around quite a while now, but the space just keeps growing and the news keeps coming.  So, enjoy these tidbits:
 
1.  Spotify is launching a podcast subscription service?
 
What happened?  A reporter who uses Spotify got an in-app survey asking about various features of a podcast subscription and tweeted that Spotify may be launching a subscription service soon.
 
Does this pass the smell test?  Ok, Spotify is obviously all in on the power of podcasts.  They threw a lot of money at Joe Rogan, who has oodles of followers but also has been a hot mess for the company from a PR perspective.  They have also signed deals for content from Michelle Obama and Kim Kardashian West recently.
 
You make money from podcasts by selling ads, offering subscriptions or a combination of both. Subscriptions could also help users discover podcasts they want to listen to because it’s too damn hard to find ones you like as it is. 
 
2.  iHeartMedia is teaming up with Malcolm Gladwell to make more podcasts
 
Who are the players?  iHeartMedia is a media conglomerate that owns over 800 radio stations nationwide.  Pushkin Industries is Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast production company that makes hit podcasts like Gladwell’s Revisionist History.
 
No exclusives
Unlike the deals cut by Spotify with Joe Rogan, Michelle Obama and Kim Kardashian West, this deal is not an exclusive.  Kudos to Malcolm Gladwell; he is holding on to the oil underneath his feet, which is his brand and his audience.
 
Everybody wins
The two-year deal gives iHeartMedia the ad selling rights to the shows produced as well as a co-production deal to produce their own shows with Pushkin.  Meanwhile, Pushkin gets aired on the over 800 radio stations that IHeartMedia owns, accessing a whole new pool of potential listeners.

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