Spotify’s commitment to podcast content continues with the announcement of a new show featuring Joe Budden.
The Joe Budden Podcast will be released exclusively through Spotify starting September 12th.
The hip-hop focused podcast will join Ebb & Flow, another exclusive hip-hop show. Ebb & Flow is dedicated to getting musicians, artists, and producers to open up about the challenges they’ve faced in the industry, with a huge human component.
New episodes of the Joe Budden Podcast will arrive every Wednesday and Saturday for listeners to enjoy.
The entire Joe Budden Podcast episode list is now available on Spotify. Episodes produced before this partnership will remain available on other services, though future episodes are Spotify exclusives.
Budden is a solo artist and member of the hip-hop group Slaughterhouse. Budden says the new partnership with Spotify is “a great amplifier for my voice” and that he’s “anxious to get started and optimistic about what’s to come.”
Spotify’s undoubtedly sees podcasting as a way to diversify its revenue streams.
Historically, Spotify has paid out roughly 70% of its music streaming revenue back to labels, publishers, and other rights owners. Those percentages have been negotiated downward, though podcasts introduce a drastically lower content cost structure.
Podcasts like Ebb & Flow, Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith, and The Joe Budden Podcast help reach more listeners and provide a better way to monetize original content.
Also worth noting: Digital Music News’ just-launched podcast is also available on Spotify. But that’s not an exclusive — we don’t have Budden clout (yet).
It’s unclear if Spotify is trying to dethrone Apple as the primary service people use for listening to podcasts. But Spotify is known for being wildly ambitious, and sometimes reaching its outlandish goals. Either way, curation pays. Spotify has scored with curated playlists, with Spotify RapCaviar one of the most popular playlists in the world.
There’s also a powerful operator at work here, with freshly-poached Spotify Studios and Video Courtney Holt appearing to be pulling multiple strings to beef up the podcasting suite.
Elsewhere, Amazon has experimented with providing exclusive content through their Audible Channels initiative, which are short-form podcasts available to all Amazon Prime subscribers. Looking ahead, podcasts and other original content will become defining features of music streaming services seeking to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market.