Bad News For Spotify As Citi Says Podcast Bet Not Paying Off

Citi analysts don’t believe Spotify’s big podcasting bet is paying off, according to a note they sent to investors....
Bad News For Spotify As Citi Says Podcast Bet Not Paying Off
Written by Matt Milano

Citi analysts don’t believe Spotify’s big podcasting bet is paying off, according to a note they sent to investors.

Spotify has invested heavily in the podcast market, acquiring companies Anchor, Gimlet Media and Parcast. The company has also inked high profile, exclusive deals, such as for The Joe Rogan Experience. Spotify obviously is concerned with diversifying its business from its core streaming music service, especially given the pressure it is facing from Apple, Pandora and others.

The only problem? Citi analysts don’t believe Spotify’s efforts are paying off, according to CNBC.

“The cadence of Premium gross additions (through 3Q20) and app download data (through 4Q20) do not show any material benefit from recent podcast investments (that began in 2019),” the analysts wrote.

Citi has downgraded Spotify from neutral to sell, leading to a drop of 6.5% of the company’s stock.

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