Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) (the “company”), the world’s
most popular music streaming service, today announced that it has
entered into definitive agreements to acquire Gimlet Media Inc.
(“Gimlet”), the renowned independent producer of podcast content,
and Anchor (“Anchor”), the company leading the market for podcast
creation, publishing, and monetization services. Terms of the
transactions were not disclosed.
With these acquisitions, Spotify is positioned to become both
the premier producer of podcasts and the leading platform for
podcast creators. Gimlet will bring to Spotify its best-in-class
podcast studio with dedicated IP development, production and
advertising capabilities. Anchor will bring its platform of tools
for podcast creators and its established and rapidly growing
creator base.
“These acquisitions will meaningfully accelerate our path to
becoming the world’s leading audio platform, give users around the
world access to the best podcast content, and improve the quality
of our listening experience as well as enhance the Spotify brand,”
said Daniel Ek, Spotify co-founder and CEO. “We are proud to
welcome Gimlet and Anchor to the Spotify team, and we look forward
to what we will accomplish together.”
For more information on Spotify’s audio-first strategy and the
acquisitions, read Daniel Ek’s blog post on Spotify’s For the
Record newsroom.
“Spotify is poised to become the largest audio platform in the
world and we are excited for Gimlet’s award-winning podcasts to
connect with new audiences around the world,” said Alex Blumberg
and Matt Lieber, co-founders of Gimlet Media. “The medium of audio
is uniquely great at creating human connection and understanding.
We are thrilled that Gimlet is joining Spotify to do that at a
global scale, on the platform and beyond.”
“We are incredibly excited to introduce Anchor's industry-best
podcasting tools to Spotify's massive user base as we continue our
journey, now with even greater resources,” said Michael Mignano,
CEO of Anchor. “We look forward to continuing to empower creators
all over the world to build an audience, generate revenue, and most
importantly, have their voices heard.”
The transactions are expected to close in the first quarter of
2019 and subject to customary closing conditions.
About Spotify Technology S.A.
Spotify transformed music listening forever when we launched in
2008. Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by
giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their
art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired
by these creators. Everything we do is driven by our love for
music.
Discover, manage, and share over 40 million tracks for free, or
upgrade to Spotify Premium to access exclusive features including
offline mode, improved sound quality, Spotify Connect and ad-free
listening.
Today, we are the world’s largest music streaming subscription
service with a community of more than 200 million users, including
over 96 million Spotify Premium subscribers, across 78 markets.
For more information, images, or to contact the press team, head
over to our press page at https://newsroom.spotify.com/.
About Anchor
Anchor is the company democratizing audio by enabling anyone to
easily create, distribute, and monetize a podcast. Our platform is
built in pursuit of the mission to empower creators to have their
voices heard and expand on audio as a creative medium.
Anchor’s end-to-end podcasting platform, available for free on
iOS, Android, and web, provides easy-to-use creative tools,
unlimited free content hosting, distribution everywhere podcasts
are heard, and monetization options built for beginners and pros
alike.
The company was founded in 2015 in New York City and today
powers more than 40 percent of the world’s new podcasts. For more
information, visit anchor.fm.
About Gimlet Media
Gimlet Media is the award-winning media company where everything
begins in audio. Gimlet was founded in 2014 and is behind hit
series like StartUp, Reply All, Homecoming, Mogul and more. Gimlet
Creative, the company’s in-house advertising agency, helps brands
find their voice in audio and produces official podcasts for brands
like eBay, Tinder, Gatorade and Mastercard. Gimlet Pictures, the
company’s film and television development and production arm, was
formalized in 2018 and focuses on bringing Gimlet franchises to the
small and big screens. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Gimlet podcasts
are listened to in nearly 190 countries worldwide. Follow us
@GimletMedia.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
We would like to caution you certain of the above statements
represent “forward-looking statements” as defined in Section 27A of
the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section
21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. The words “may,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “would,”
“should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “seek,”
“believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,”
“contemplate,” “possible,” and similar words are intended to
identify estimates and forward-looking statements. We intend such
forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor
provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and include this statement
for purposes of complying with the safe harbor provisions. Such
forward-looking statements involve significant risks, uncertainties
and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ
materially from our historical experience and our present
expectations or projections, including but not limited to the
following known material factors: our ability to attract
prospective users and to retain existing users; our dependence upon
third-party licenses for sound recordings and musical compositions;
our lack of control over the providers of our content and their
effect on our access to music and other content; our ability to
generate sufficient revenue to be profitable or to generate
positive cash flow on a sustained basis; our ability to comply with
the many complex license agreements to which we are a party; our
ability to accurately estimate the amounts payable under our
license agreements; the limitations on our operating flexibility
due to the minimum guarantees required under certain of our license
agreements; our ability to obtain accurate and comprehensive
information about music compositions in order to obtain necessary
licenses or perform obligations under our existing license
agreements; potential breaches of our security systems; assertions
by third parties of infringement or other violations by us of their
intellectual property rights; competition for users and user
listening time; our ability to accurately estimate our user metrics
and other estimates; risks associated with manipulation of stream
counts and user accounts and unauthorized access to our services;
changes in legislation or governmental regulations affecting us;
ability to hire and retain key personnel; our ability to maintain,
protect, and enhance our brand; risks associated with our
international expansion, including difficulties obtaining rights to
stream music on favorable terms; risks relating to the acquisition,
investment, and disposition of companies or technologies; dilution
resulting from additional share issuances; tax-related risks; the
concentration of voting power among our founders who have and will
continue to have substantial control over our business; risks
related to our status as a foreign private issuer; international,
national or local economic, social or political conditions; risks
associated with accounting estimates, currency fluctuations and
foreign exchange controls; and such other risks as set forth in our
filings with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190206005215/en/
Investor Relations:Paul Vogelir@spotify.comOrPublic
Relations:Dustee Jenkinspress@spotify.com
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