Has Spotify just changed podcasting forever? – podcasts of the week

In a game-changing move, the streaming giant just bought Homecoming creators Gimlet. Plus: the pod going behind the scenes at the Mueller probe

In what is comfortably the biggest deal in the history of podcasting to date, streaming giant Spotify has bought Gimlet Media, the company behind series such as Homecoming and Reply All, in a deal said to have cost the company $230m. It’s being seen as a game-changing statement of intent from Spotify, which is looking to divert more of its focus away from the competitive world of music streaming, and into the growth industry of podcasts. It’s not done, either: it has also acquired self-publishing podcast firm Anchor and say it has plans to spend a further $500m on podcast acquisitions in the near future. More broadly, it’s being suggested that the deal might just be regarded as the moment podcasting truly evolved from a cottage industry to a global money-maker.

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