Friday Fives

1. $230 MILLION FOR A PODCAST COMPANY?

Well, to be fair, Gimlet Media is now more than just a podcast company, even if that was its original roots - it now also boasts a film and TV development and production arm and an inhouse advertising agency. The announcement yesterday that Spotify has bought the company for a rumoured US$230 million was met with a mixture of excitement and trepidation from listeners.

Excitement for the little startup that could! For anyone who followed Gimlet’s startup journey - on their own podcast series Startup - this is somewhat of a fairytale ending for a company which bared all to it’s very own customers on their early days. Trepidation for the quality of the, often irreverent, content that comes out from Gimlet’s wide range of series and also fear of being forced to use the Spotify platform to listen to the content (though this fear has been discounted by the Gimlet team).

So why is Spotify investing in a podcasting company? It’s part of a broader strategy to differentiate itself from the likes of Apple and Google. And, as so aptly put by well known VC and Gimlet investor Chris Sacca in a recent tweet wen speculation was rife that the acquisition was imminent:

“Can’t comment on any deal. But podcast industry will continue to grow. Compelling, personalized, yet communal media that requires only partial attention. The industry will die when people stop commuting, working out, walking, avoiding others, fanboying, laughing, etc.”

Listen to a pretty free and frank interview with the Gimlet founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber only a few hours after the deal was signed: “Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber explain why they sold Gimlet to Spotify”

And read more on what attracted Spotify to Gimlet here: “Spotify spends big on podcasts”

2. ARE BUSINESS INCENTIVES GOOD POLITICS?

Off the back of the ongoing Amazon HQ2 saga, Richard Florida looks at the recent results of an annual mayoral survey conducted by Boston University’s Initiative on Cities which gives some pretty interesting insights into what U.S. mayors think about HQ2 and economic-development incentives.

The survey showed that more than 82% of the mayors surveyed believe that believe that business incentives are “good policy” for recruiting companies and jobs to their communities. This is despite significant research on the ineffectiveness of such incentives.

Florida’s breakdown of the results gives some interesting insights into where America’s mayors stand in terms of HQ2 and business location incentives.

3. WISCONSIN AND THEIR DISASTROUS TAX INCENTIVE DEAL WITH FOXCONN

On the subject of business incentives … we first heard about the Foxconn Wisconsin debacle in Gimlet Media’s Reply All podcast late last year - Negative Mount Pleasant. It told the story of what happens when a large multinational company cuts a major development deal with a small rural town in Wisconsin. And reader, it isn’t all sweetness and light.

This week it came to light that the high-tech manufacturing deal - with government incentives of $4.5 billion (the largest public subsidy package to a foreign company in U.S. history) and touted to create up to 13,000 jobs - has failed to live up to expectations. Already Foxconn officials are disputing the Bloomberg Businessweek article which broke the story as distorting the picture. This will be an interesting story to play out as this was a highly political deal with President Trump labelling it as “... the Eighth Wonder of the World” and was seen as a turning point for “restoring America’s industrial might.”

4. HQ2 LONG ISLAND IN DOUBT

Continuing on the theme of business incentives - it appears that Amazon could be reconsidering their New York City campus in the face of local politician opposition. Unlike Virginia and Tennessee who have already passed their incentive packages, approval from New York isn’t expected until next year, which would open the door for Amazon to reassess if it is worth it if the politicians don’t want it.

5. DIVERSITY IN AI AND BLOCKCHAIN

This stellar lineup of innovative leaders in the AI and blockchain world is well worth a read. And not only for the exciting innovations - but also for an insight into why diversity in this field is mission critical for solutions that are effective and sustainable. From raising awareness of racial bias in machine learning algorithms through to using blockchain to shake up the music industry - check out these profiles of eleven women who are challenging the status quo.

Tracy MoyesFebruary 8, 2019Comment