Spotify have acquired radio and podcast broadcasting app Whooshkaa.
Spotify buys radio and podcast app Whooskhaa
The music streaming service has put pen to paper on a new deal to acquire Whooshkaa, a six-year-old Australian company that is focused on helping radio broadcasters monetise, edit, and distribute their shows as podcasts.
Spotify says some radio broadcasters, like the Australian Radio Network, already rely on its podcast hosting platform Megaphone, and this Whooshkaa radio technology will be integrated into it.
The selling price of to Spotify was not disclosed amid news of the deal.
For Spotify, the acquisition comes after CEO Daniel Ek said earlier this year that traditional radio was dying, and that Spotify’s vision for audio’s future would incorporate all forms of listening.
He said: “If you think over the next 10 years for certain, what’s now radio is going to collapse and move from a linear space to an on-demand space. That’s where I think we’re in this race to try to get as many people as possible to convert into streaming on demand and hopefully choose Spotify as their preferred platform.”
The news also comes after Spotify began experimenting with a new video feed feature that is similar to the style of short-form videos seen on TikTok.
Journalist Chris Messina discovered the update on the beta version of the iOS app, as he posted screenshots on Twitter of a new icon on Spotify’s navigation bar labelled “Discover”.
When clicked, the Discover tab shows the user fullscreen video clips as songs are played, which users can leave a like on.