Spotify Touts Platform as Amazon Pushes Into Podcasts

Spotify sees its integration of podcasts and audio as a differentiator as the company looks to stave off competition from Apple’s bundled service package, announced Tuesday (see 2009150060), and Amazon’s entry into podcasts Wednesday.

“We know that there are certain things that some of our competitors bring to the table,” said Chief Financial Officer Paul Vogel Wednesday at a virtual investor conference, citing Amazon’s Alexa integration in Echo speakers and the Apple One bundle. “None of that is a surprise to us,” he said: “You have to assume that we’ve expected all of those things.” Whether Spotify can “manage through it or not is up to us to execute against it,” he said.

Amazon Music launched podcasts in the U.S., U.K. and Japan Wednesday across all service tiers. Customers can stream podcasts “they already know and love,” along with new, original shows produced exclusively for Amazon Music from creators including DJ Khaled, Becky G, Will Smith and Dan Patrick, it said.

True crimes podcast Disgraceland, currently available on Spotify, Apple Music, iHeartRadio and other streaming services, will be available exclusively on Amazon Music next year, the company said. See music.amazon.com/podcasts.

“Only with Amazon Music can customers ask for the latest episode of their favorite show on Echo Auto during their morning commute, resume playback on their phone while working out, and seamlessly move to their Echo device when getting home -- just by asking Alexa,” Amazon said. Podcasts, along with Amazon’s work with Twitch to bring livestreaming into the app, “make Amazon Music a premiere destination for creators,” said Steve Boom, vice president-Amazon Music.

Vogel said Spotify's streaming service has grown on smart speakers at home. “There’s innovations we could probably do just on the voice recognition side from our side,” he said, saying the company’s strategy has always been about “ubiquity." Spotify knows Amazon has inherent advantages in controlling “end-to-end points and having both a service and the end point in the speaker, and so for us, it’s about making it as seamless as possible” and offering a superior product, he said. Having all the services together in one app is a differentiator, Vogel said, citing “The Daily Drive,” a commuting playlist that mixes music and talk.

Amazon said customers will be able to discover podcasts through “curated recommendations” across top categories, popular podcast charts and trailers on show pages.