Up until now, Spotify's pitch has split its podcast advertising into two products, said Stephen Smyk, SVP of podcast and influencer marketing at ad agency Veritone One. Spotify will make Rogan's podcast free for listeners and sell mid-roll ads in shows as well as work with podcast sales firm PMM that has long handled Rogan's advertising deals. 'They have an ambition to scale podcast advertising.' 'Spotify's business is predicated on streaming music, and it's not as lucrative as if they own the content itself,' he said. The company is well known for charging higher ad rates than other platforms, Weisman said. The Rogan deal offers Spotify a chance to boost its non-subscription revenue. According to eMarketer, the podcasting advertising market will hit $1 billion in 2021, up from $479 million in 2018. Podcast advertising is a small but growing industry. Spotify has 'an ambition to scale podcast advertising' Apple consumes 60% of the podcast market while Spotify makes up 10%. Spotify is aggressively trying to steal podcasting share from market leader Apple, said Danny Weisman, media director at media agency Noble People. Or Jay-Z and Tidal - no one thought about it until he put his catalogue there.' 'In the broader entertainment space, big bold personalities are a way of legitimizing the platform,' said Alain Sylvain, founder and CEO of Sylvain Labs, a brand consultancy, which has Spotify as a client. The streaming giant acquired Gimlet Media and Anchor for $340 million last year and purchased Bill Simmons' sports media property The Ringer for $200 million earlier this year. The tie-up is the latest example of how Spotify is willing to pay for big acquisitions to move further into podcasting. The top podcaster is taking his show to Spotify in a licensing deal that The Wall Street Journal pegged at more than $100 million.

Spotify's deal with comedian and media host Joe Rogan solidifies its dominance in podcasting and shows how quickly the small but growing industry is being locked up by big media companies. Some worried that the move signals the end of independent podcasters and could pose problems for advertisers that like to buy podcast ads simultaneously across many shows.Podcasting execs and ad agencies see the deal as Spotify's biggest bet on podcasting and say it could set a precedent for how other platforms court big stars.

Spotify has acquired Joe Rogan's popular podcast and will exclusively host his content and sell ads.

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