STREAMING: Amazon has paid more than 300 million dollars for the purchase of Wondery to launch podcast market
After weeks of negotiations, that’s it, podcast publisher Wondery has just gone under the Amazon flag. A strategic takeover for Jeff Bezos’ group since the takeover of Wondery will allow Amazon Music, Amazon’s music streaming service, to offer more original podcasts (or not) and thus, attract new subscribers.
With this acquisition, the American group intends to compete with Spotify on the podcast niche. The Swedish service itself bought the Gimlet Media platform specializing in podcasts in 2019 for $ 213 million. “With Wondery, we will continue to attract more customers to streaming as we expand our selection and ensure our customers find, discover and listen to the creators and artists they love,” Amazon said in a statement. communicated.
“Once the agreement is concluded, nothing will change for listeners and they will continue to be able to access Wondery podcasts via various providers,” said the main interested party in his press release.
An empire that continues to grow
Although the amount of the transaction has not been disclosed, it will amount to more than $ 300 million, according to information from the Wall Street Journal. A significant amount that shows how much Amazon believes in the potential of podcasts to popularize its music streaming service and attract new subscribers.
Amazon Music has also supported podcasts for a few months, but the feature is currently only available in a limited number of countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan). The purchase of Wondery will certainly allow Amazon Music to offer more to its subscribers. “Amazon Music launched podcasts in September 2020 and, with Wondery, we hope to accelerate growth and evolution (…) by bringing creators, hosts and immersive experiences to even more listeners around the world, all like we do with music, ”the company said in its press release.
