Spotify Trims Slate, Cancels 11 Original Podcasts as It Concentrates on Bigger Shows

A source familiar with the situation revealed to TechCrunch that Spotify is removing 11 original podcasts from the platform. This will have an impact on the studios Parcast and Gimlet and result in fewer than 5% of the podcast personnel at Spotify being laid off. We understand that Spotify will also move certain employees to different podcasts.

When contacted for comment, Spotify stated that it doesn't make public statements regarding staffing changes.

Gimlet's "How to Save a Planet," "Crime Show," and "Every Little Thing," Parcast's "Medical Murders," "Female Criminals," "Crimes of Passion," "Dictator," "Mythology," "Haunted Places," and "Urban Legends," are just a few of the podcasts that will be leaving the platform in the coming months.

The "Horoscope Today" feature on Spotify will likewise end in the second quarter of 2023.

Dawn Ostroff, Spotify's chief content officer, and Julie McNamara, its president of U.S. studios and video, wrote about Nicole Beemsterboer's upcoming position in an internal memo, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. As of now, Liliana Kim is Parcast's new managing director.

This is the first time that a group of podcasts had been removed from Spotify. The decision was probably made to help the network's original and exclusive (O&E) podcast lineup, which already boasts popular programmes like "Batman Unburied," "Call Her Daddy," and the recently launched Kim Kardashian podcast "The System: The Case of Kevin Keith," among others, be stronger.

Spotify seems to be eliminating the weak shows, just like the TV industry does with cancellations. This may free up space for the numerous planned O&E (original and exclusive) titles that the firm plans to reveal in the coming weeks and months.

The Spotify Studios, The Ringer, Parcast, and Gimlet in-house studios have created more than 500 O&E podcasts altogether for the music streaming service.

The Ringer and Spotify Studios were unaffected by the cancellations.

A new feature that puts Spotify in direct competition with leading audiobook distributors like Audible, Audiobooks, Google, and Nook was introduced last month: over 300,000 audiobooks.