Michelle Obama, podcast host: how podcasting became a multi-billion dollar industry
Michelle Obama’s podcast launches today. Siobhan McHugh unpacks the boom of the podcasting industry in this crossposting from The Conversation.
“You kind of fail your way to success,” observed Matt Lieber, head of podcast operations at Spotify, at this year’s Audiocraft festival, an annual weekend of panels about podcasting. Normally held in Sydney, this year, thanks to COVID-19, the festival shifted online.
Lieber was talking about StartUp, his podcast about establishing Gimlet Media in 2014. Lieber and his business partner, Alex Blumberg, wanted to develop a podcast studio that would become “the HBO of audio”.
Last year, Gimlet hit the jackpot. It was acquired by Spotify for US$230 million (A$322 million).
