Spotify Brasil announced this Monday (11) the function of publishing podcasts in video format. The functionality, which was already available for the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, will be released in the country starting this Tuesday (12). Other countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico also join the list.
To upload videos on the streaming service, the company makes available Anchor, Spotify’s editing and distribution platform. The company was acquired by Spotify in 2019 along with Gimlet Media, one of the largest American groups that create podcasts.
Among the original Spotify podcasts that will have a video version are Podpah, Ticaracaticast, Flow, Vacacast among others. The Bocas Ordinárias program will be the first Spotify Original podcast with video and will premiere on July 19.
According to Spotify, the new feature will also have question boxes and polls to increase interaction with listeners. Today, the only way for podcasters and audiences to connect is to rate episodes with stars and whether an episode is well-shared.
The functionality will be available in all preview formats, whether webplayer or app. The new update allows you to watch the podcast in the foreground or background.
Brazilians listen more and more to podcasts
The Brazilian registered a considerable increase in consumption and in the frequency of listening to podcasts during the pandemic. According to a survey by IAB Brasil (Interactive Advertising Bureau), an association that brings together digital advertising companies, in 2021, 76% of respondents said they listened to podcasts, compared to 40% in 2019. more times a week.
According to the latest survey of the ICT Covid-19 Panel, carried out by Cetic.br (Regional Center for Studies for the Development of the Information Society), in 2021, 89% of internet users in Brazil claim to have listened to music on online services and 62 % followed real-time audio or video streams.
In June, the company announced the creation of a safety council to spread information about hate speech, disinformation, extremism and online abuse.
The measure is one of the strategies adopted by the company after the case of Joe Rogan, UFC commentator, comedian and podcaster accused of presenting false data about vaccines against Covid-19 on his program “The Joe Rogan Experience”.
Earlier this year, artists such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell called for the removal of their music from the service in an act of repudiation of the permanence of Rogan’s content on the platform.
Spotify in numbers
Spotify ended 2021 with a loss of 39 million euros, but posted a net profit of 131 million euros in the first quarter of 2022, up from 23 million in the previous period.
Since the beginning of the Ukrainian War, the company has lost 1.5 million subscribers due to the closure of activities in Russia. Even with the departure, the embezzlement was offset by the gain of about 3.5 million new paid users in other regions, especially in Latin America and Europe, according to the company.
The platform managed to withstand the impact of the conflict, registering 182 million subscribers, compared to 180 million in the previous quarter.
The positive result of the service was also maintained by the increase in ad revenue. Advertising revenue in the first quarter was 282 million euros, an increase of 31% compared to the same period in 2021. Altogether, there are 422 million active users.
The consumption of podcasts via the platform was one of the main factors that held back growth in the quarter. The increase lives up to Spotify’s robust investment in the segment, which has been betting on acquiring exclusive podcasts in an attempt to attract users.
In June, Spotify expects to hit $100 billion in revenue over the next ten years, with a high margin of return for expansion into podcasts and audiobooks.
About Spotify
Foundation
2008, in Brazil since 2014
Thirst
Stockholm, Sweden.
users
422 million per month, worldwide
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
