Spotify Strikes Exclusive Podcasting deal with Kim Kardashian West

Kim Kardashian West has signed an exclusive podcasting deal with Spotify (SPOT) that will cover themes of wrongful conviction and criminal justice reform, similar to the work she has done with the Innocence Project. The nonprofit organization works to exonerate wrongly convicted individuals.

The deal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which added that television producer Lori Rothschild Ansaldi will co-host and co-produce.

A Spotify spokesperson confirmed the deal to CNN Business but declined to provide additional details, including the launch date.

This deal with Kardashian West is the latest in a series of moves by the music streaming service to dominate the podcast industry. In May, Spotify signed one of the world’s most popular podcasts, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” for a multi-year exclusive licensing deal. Earlier this year, Spotify bought The Ringer, Bill Simmons’ sports and culture site which boasts more than 30 podcasts. Those deals add to Spotify’s other podcast-centric acquisitions, including Gimlet, Parcast and Anchor.

Apple has long been the dominant player in the podcast industry. But Spotify has been growing in popularity in part by investing in exclusive deals. Last year, Spotify’s Chief Content and Advertising Business Officer Dawn Ostroff told CNN Business about the company’s strategy for more exclusives.

“We’re making more content exclusive on the platform, [which] allows us to market in a more meaningful way [and] bring people onto the platform,” Ostroff said at the time. “And we’re finding that creators are excited about working with us on an exclusive basis, because we’re able to put so much more of our marketing and on-platform data and insights in their hands.”

Despite the pandemic changing people’s daily lives, Spotify said its podcast business is growing. About 19% of Spotify’s monthly active users listen to podcasts, up from 16% last quarter, the company reported in April as part of its first quarter earnings.

Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly characterized the nature of Kim Kardashian West’s Spotify podcast.

Source: CNN Business