In a note Monday, the Sweden-based company said it has “made the difficult but necessary decision to make a strategic realignment” within its podcast department, including merging Parcast and Gimlet Media studios into one. Bill Simmons’ sports podcast, “The Ringer,” will remain separate. “We are expanding our partnership efforts with leading podcasters from across the globe with a tailored approach optimized for each show and creator,” Spotify VP Sahar Elhabashi wrote in the note.
However, the company has been paring back the number of exclusives it has. Deals with self-help guru Brené Brown, sports journalist Jemele Hill and Barack and Michelle Obama’s deals are expiring. Spotify\n \n said it has 100 million podcast listeners and is the no. 1 podcast publisher in the United States. It added that podcast ad revenue “experienced high double-digit growth” from 2021 to 2022. This is Spotify’s second round of layoffs this year.