In 2021, Spotify decided to broaden the reach of its broadcast-to-podcast technology with the acquisition of Whooshkaa. Broadcast-to-podcast is a platform that helps radio publishers create and monetize podcasts from their shows. This technology was launched today, two years later, Thursday April 13, 2023, by Megaphone, Spotify’s service that hosts and monetizes publishers’ podcasts.
With this tool broadcast-to-podcast, publishers can produce podcasts automatically and effortlessly from their already broadcast radio content. The solution is globally available to all publishers using Megaphone. By doing so, you can grow your audience, maximize ad revenue, and give fans the ability to listen to their favorite content on-demand.
“The way listeners engage with audio is constantly evolving, and we know digital audio is increasingly becoming the listening mode of choice, especially for Gen Z,” he said. Alberto Mazzieri, Spotify’s Head of Sales Southern Europe. “With this new broadcast-to-podcast feature, we’re giving radio publishers the ability to reach not only their regular audience, but also connect with new and younger audiences. We’re also excited to unlock a new revenue channel for radio publishers, who can easily monetize their podcasts on their own or as part of the Spotify Audience Network.”
What’s new on Spotify Megaphone
The new broadcast-to-podcast tool is already being used by some of the world’s largest publishers, including FOX News Audio. Users can try it out after going through a simple setup process. Once enabled, broadcast-to-podcast automatically creates new podcast episodes, starting at previously broadcast content. Here is specifically how it works and what happens:
- Ad marker locations are identified automatically, but publishers have the option to replace or remove these advertising positionsbased on their placement within the transmission stream.
- Publishers have the option to re-post new ads dynamically to obtain additional monetization. Alternatively they can replace the old ad locations with other content.
- Publishers can also take the opportunity to take advantage of Megaphone’s best monetization tools. Among these also Spotify Audience Network (which will soon also arrive in Italy), which helps publishers to monetize their catalog of content.