Brief:
- Spotify this week start streaming a weekly podcast co-hosted by TikTok star Addison Rae and her mom, Sheri Nicole. In the weekly "Mama Knows Best" podcast, they will share details about their relationship and how the 19-year-old social media personality relies on her mother for advice about relationships, friends and family, Variety reported.
- Podcast studio Parcast, which Spotify bought last year, is producing the show with new episodes released every Monday. Parcast produces podcasts among a variety of genres such as true crime, mystery and history, with titles that include "Serial Killers," "Horoscope Today" and "Supernatural" with Ashley Flowers.
- Rae has about 51.4 million followers on TikTok, making the 19-year-old one of the biggest stars on the social video app, along with millions of followers on Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. Rae is a member of the Hype House collective of influencers based in Los Angeles who produce videos together, and has a merchandise line with Fanjoy, which collaborates with influencers to sell limited-edition clothing and accessories. Rae has worked brands such as American Eagle, Reebok and L'Oréal on campaigns, Variety reported.
Insight:
Spotify's rollout of a weekly podcast featuring TikTok star Addison Rae and her mom, who has built her own following of 8.3 million people on the social video app, can help to broaden its range of programming and reach a Generation Z audience. It's not clear how many teens listen to podcasts, although anecdotal reports from magazines as varied as Wired and Good Housekeeping indicate that the volume of podcasts targeting younger people is growing. The podcast market tends to skew toward a younger demographic that includes teens. Among people ages 12 to 34, about 48% listen to podcasts at least monthly, compared with 37% of the general population, per a study by Edison Research and Triton.
The launch of "Mama Knows Best" is another sign of how the audio streaming company is expanding its library of exclusive podcasts to appeal to a growing audience. Spotify on July 29 will start streaming a podcast from Higher Ground, the production company formed by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. "The Michelle Obama Podcast" will feature the former First Lady in discussions about topics such as relationships, raising children, women's health, professional mentoring and marriage. Procter & Gamble's Dawn and Tide household brands and software maker Salesforce are the presenting sponsors for the podcast's first season, per an announcement.
Spotify is investing heavily in exclusive podcast content to compete with rival music streaming services like Apple Music and YouTube Music that come preinstalled on mobile devices. Spotify in June formed a multiyear partnership with Warner Bros. and DC to carry scripted podcast series based on the comics imprint's superheroes. That agreement followed an exclusive deal to stream popular podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" and Spotify's purchase of Bill Simmons' The Ringer network. In its first significant podcast deal, Spotify in February last year bought Gimlet Media, the home of popular titles like "Homecoming" and "Reply All," for a reported $230 million, and also acquired podcast production platform Anchor. A month later, it snapped up the narrative-focused podcast studio Parcast for $56 million.
Its investments in podcast content come as U.S. podcast advertising revenue is expected to rise 15% to about $1 billion this year, per a revised estimate by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and consulting firm PwC. News is the most popular podcast content for advertisers at 22% of total spending, followed by comedy (17%), society and culture (13%), business (11%) and true crime (9%). The percentage of advertisers that have added podcasts to their annual media plans nearly doubled to 47%, indicating that more brands are likely to participate in upfront purchases rather than the scatter market, per the IAB.
