Spotify’s billion-dollar bet on podcasting has yet to pay off

Joe Rogan, Bill Simmons, and Call Her Daddy haven’t fixed the business. Spotify moved into podcasts to avoid the unprofitable world of music streaming. It has spent more than $1 billion on podcasting over the last four years, yet it only accounts for under ten per cent of listening hours and only two per cent of sales. Luas Shaw takes a deep dive into why the company’s business strategy has done little to impact its profitability but has also established it as a podcasting giant.