Broadcast-to-podcast technology for Spotify’s Megaphone

Spotify is to fully integrate broadcast-to-podcast technology into Megaphone.

Megaphone is Spotify’s podcasting platform for enterprise publishers and professional podcasters worldwide.

The broadcast-to-podcast tool makes it easy to turn existing audio content into on-demand podcast content, providing a new opportunity to re-distribute and re-monetise it.

Available to Megaphone publishers globally, broadcast-to-podcasts enables broadcasters to reach new audiences, unlock more monetisation opportunities, and give loyal listeners more access to their content from anywhere.

Spotify says it’s launching this tool because radio listeners are moving from terrestrial radio to broadcast radio online in large numbers as they tune in on their digital devices. It also says that consumers want to listen to their favourite audio content when they choose to, which has contributed to the rise in podcasting.

The shift in listener habits represents an opportunity for broadcasters, who already have a large catalogue of premium content, but lack the tools to easily convert it to an on-demand podcast.

It’s thought that this launch will help broadcasters to reach previously hard-to-reach audiences like Gen Z, who prefer to get their news through digital channels like podcasts and it offers a huge revenue opportunity.

Emma Vaughn, Global Head of Advertising Business Development & Partnerships says: “The way listeners engage with audio is constantly changing and we know that digital audio is increasingly becoming their preferred way to listen, especially Gen Z.

“With this new broadcast–to-podcast feature, we’re empowering radio publishers to reach existing audiences throughout their day, but to connect with new, younger audiences.

“What’s more, we’re excited to unlock a new revenue stream for broadcast publishers as we make it easy for them to monetize their podcast content themselves or as part of the Spotify Audience Network.”

After a simple, one-time setup process, broadcast-to-podcast automatically creates new podcast episodes from content previously broadcast.

Ad marker locations are automatically identified and users can either replace or remove the identified ad locations based on their placement in the broadcast stream. This gives users the ability to dynamically re-insert new ads for additional monetisation or replace old ad locations with other content.

Publishers can also take this opportunity to tap into Megaphone’s monetisation tools, including the Spotify Audience Network, which helps to monetise unsold inventory.