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The audio company is reportedly in talks to purchase the digital native publisher, which was launched in 2016 and attributes over 30% of its revenue to podcasting, per The Wall Street Journal.

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A potential purchase of The Ringer, which boasts more than 30 audio shows and over 100 million monthly downloads, fits well with Spotify's acquisitive approach to the podcasting space: It spent more than $400 million on podcast acquisitions in 2019 when it purchased content studio Parcast, podcast producer Gimlet Media, and podcast creation platform Anchor.

The Ringer's network of beloved podcasts could help Spotify grow its revenue from podcasting — especially if it decided to make The Ringer content exclusive to its platform. The network covers a wide range of genres, from movies and art to sports and news, and boasts popular titles like "The Bill Simmons Podcast."

And it's seen positive results: In 2018, The Ringer reported over $15 million in revenue from its podcasting unit — plus, it's profitable — according to the Journal. Immediately, Spotify would benefit by boosting the revenue it already generates from original podcast content like Parcast's shows, for instance, and it could potentially help grow

The Ringer's revenue even higher by promoting its shows and investing more resources in its content. But Spotify could likely gain the most by making the shows — which already have an established fanbase — exclusive to its platform. Already, the two companies collaborate on an Spotify exclusive, called "The Hottest Take," which covers a variety of low-stakes topics by The Ringer staff writers. The show has been successful, making it to Vulture's top 10 podcasts of 2019 list, and giving the platform some talk show style content that Spotify otherwise lacks in its narrative-driven repertoire of original shows.

If Spotify does buy The Ringer, the fate of the publisher's non-audio content — like its articles, documentaries, and even book publishing deal — is less clear. As far as The Ringer's written content goes, Spotify could find value in an approach where the segment is left relatively independent and acts as a supplier of podcast content.

We've seen other publishers, like Slate, take a similar approach, adapting written content into podcast shows, both narrative and more discussion-based. In terms of video, Spotify has thus far limited itself to video content made to promote special events and enhance the listening experience for certain playlists and artists: For example, for its annual Viva Latino concert, held in Chicago last year, the company put together a series of videos interviewing the performers, sponsored by Honda and published to both Spotify and YouTube.

The company has also created shorter-form, in-app videos for certain albums and songs in recent months. Similarly, The Ringer uses video to both show stories in a new light, and promote its other media output, which could fit in with how Spotify uses the medium. The result could be an additional boost to its creative content teams overarchingly, which would only enhance user experience and serve the platform well.

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