Photo Credit: ConvertKitSpotify has acquired podcast tech company Whooshkaa, for converting existing audio into podcasts.
Spotify isn’t content with snapping up several podcasting studios; it has focused on podcast tech, too. Ad company Megaphone was snapped up last year, and podcast discovery platform Podz was swallowed this year. Anchor and Greenroom were Spotify acquisitions into the consumer-facing podcast tools market.
Whooshkaa offers specialized technology to allow broadcasters to turn existing audio content into on-demand podcast programming. Think of it like SiriusXM turning some of its most popular radio shows into podcasts on Pandora. Spotify says it will integrate the new ‘broadcast-to-podcast’ tech into Megaphone, which already provides distribution, reporting, and monetization tools to podcasters.
Spotify says Whooshkaa’s porting capability will allow more third-party content to come to the Spotify network. That, in turn, increases the reach and impact of Spotify’s digital audio advertising efforts. Spotify surpassed €1 billion in advertising revenue in 2021; the company reported its highest ad revenue quarter ever in Q3 2021.
Whooshkaa first launched in 2016 and has innovated in areas including text-to-speech, speech-to-text, connected home integration, ad technology with dynamic insertion, and more. Spotify says it will bring Whooshkaa’s technology to a much larger audience.
“We believe the worldwide growth potential for digital audio is still largely untapped. Through the addition of these new tools as well as the innovative team behind them, we are reinforcing our commitment to helping creators, publishers, and advertisers realize the value of this opportunity,” says Spotify’s Chief Content & Advertising Business Officer, Dawn Ostroff.
“With Whooshkaa, we will strengthen our efforts to help audio publishers of all kinds grow their podcast business and scale our ability to help advertisers reach their audiences.”
Spotify did not disclose the terms of the deal to acquire Australian podcast tech company, Whooshkaa.
Spotify says it cannot comment on current transition plans for existing customers. At least 12 people will be joining Spotify as part of the deal, and they will remain based in Australia.
