Spotify buys podcast companies Gimlet and Anchor

Last week it was reported that Spotify was in talks to buy podcast giants Gimlet Media, who are responsible for podcast series Reply All, StartUp, and Homecoming, which was later adapted into an Amazon Prime tv series starring Julia Roberts.

Anchor is a leading podcast production company that allowed users to create podcasts and distribute straight to Google and Apple (before Spotify's acquisition).

On a blog post, Daniel Ek explains, "We believe it is a safe assumption that, over time, more than 20% of all Spotify listening will be non-music content. This means the potential to grow much faster with more original programming — and to differentiate Spotify by playing to what makes us unique — all with the goal of becoming the world’s number one audio platform."

Ek adds, "These companies are best-in-class and together we will offer differentiated and original content. Gimlet and Anchor will position us to become the leading platform for podcast creators around the world and the leading producer of podcasts.

...To be clear, this doesn’t make music any less important at Spotify. Our core business is performing very well. But as we expand deeper into audio, especially with original content, we will scale our entire business, creating leverage in the model through subscriptions and ads. This is why we feel it is prudent to invest now to capture the opportunity ahead. We want Spotify to continue to be at the center of the global audio economy."

The reports last week stated that Spotify had offered $230 million for Gimlet, but Spotify it yet to disclose the confirmed amount for buying both companies, with transactions set to take place over the first quarter of this year.