DUBAI: Spotify is canceling 10 original podcasts produced by in-house studios Parcast and Gimlet over the next month.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the shows that will come to an end are “How to Save a Planet,” “Crime Show” and “Every Little Thing” from Gimlet, and “Medical Murders,” “Female Criminals,” “Crimes of Passion,” “Dictator,” “Mythology,” “Haunted Places” and “Urban Legends” from Parcast.
Another Parcast podcast, “Horoscope Today,” was also axed but will continue to release new episodes until the second quarter of next year.
The cancellations will reportedly affect less than 5 percent of the staff working on the podcasts, with some being reassigned to other projects.
Spotify currently produces more than 500 original and exclusive shows across four in-house studios: Parcast, Gimlet, The Ringer and Spotify Studios. Staff and podcasts from the latter two are not expected to be affected at this time.
Spotify has made significant investments in podcasts over the years. In 2019, it invested $1 billion in podcasting, including the acquisition of Parcast and Gimlet. Since then, it has acquired several additional podcast companies, including some specializing in podcast technologies, including Chartable, Podsights, Megaphone, Anchor, Whooshkaa and Betty Labs.
This month it acquired content-moderation tech company Kinzen to help it identify harmful content on the platform.
It is not clear whether the cuts will affect any Spotify content produced in the Middle East. A spokesperson from the regional team declined to comment.
