Spotify has launched a new personalized playlist that combines podcasts and music.
The new playlist (currently for US users) is called Your Daily Drive and has been launched alongside Spotify’s new ‘Driving Hub’.
As first reported by The Verge, Spotify started testing inserting podcasts into personalized playlists earlier this year.
At launch, the new playlist will feature short-form podcast news updates from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and PRI and updates throughout the day ‘to keep both the music and news fresh’.
The new in-car focused playlist follows last month’s news that Spotify is testing a voice-controlled, in-car audio device in the US called the ‘Car Thing’.
According to a blog post published on May 17, Spotify says that the test will be carried out in the US only, “with a small group of invited Spotify Premium users”.
Even though Spotify insists that it’s not planning on releasing that hardware to consumers, the company’s activity in this area might be enough to make the current king of the road SiriusXM feel a little uncomfortable.
“If it feels like you’re always in the car, you’re not alone. Americans log 70 billion hours behind the wheel each year, with a big chunk of that time spent commuting to and from work or school, says Spotify in a blog post.
“To help make that time fly by, stay up to date on the world around you, and maybe even rock out to a few timeless classics, we are excited to introduce Your Daily Drive.”
“To help make that time fly by, stay up to date on the world around you, and maybe even rock out to a few timeless classics, we are excited to introduce Your Daily Drive.
“The very best of news talk shows, including the relevancy and personality of the hosts, with the best of audio streaming (on demand, personalized playing and discovery).
“It combines music you love with relevant, timely world updates from reputable sources – all put together in a seamless and unified listening experience.”
Since Spotify boss Daniel Ek laid out the company’s ‘Audio First’ content strategy in February, the company has acquired thee podcast companies, Anchor and Gimlet Media for $343 million combined and also Parcast, a company that specializes in true-crime programs.
Later that month we were given an interesting insight into the company’s wider original audio content ambitions, when a job ad spotted by MBW revealed that Spotify was planning to launch a “sports content portfolio” based around audio podcasts.
With this latest launch, it’s becoming clear that the next area of audio content Spotify hopes to get a foothold in is news.
Spotify is also currently running a job ad (first spotted by Cherie Hu) for a New York-based News & Documentary Podcast Producer who will be part of a team “focused on developing a diverse slate of original news and documentary podcast programming”.Music Business Worldwide
