On Tuesday, music streaming giant Spotify announced that it plans to acquire Parcast, which is a podcast network that revolves around cults, mythology, serial killers, and other information-heavy topics.
Full terms of the deal, which is expected to close very soon, have not yet been revealed, but this marks the latest step in Spotify’s move into the podcast world after acquiring both Gimlet Media and Anchor in February.
Spotify to acquire Parcast. Read the press release here to learn more about how we’re accelerating growth in podcasting: https://t.co/OUDvFNn9BR
— Spotify News (@SpotifyNews) March 26, 2019
Parcast, which was founded in 2016, focuses in topic-driven podcasts that look at things like female criminals, extraterrestrials, and hostages. Out of their current 18 podcasts, Parcast’s most popular shows on the Apple Podcasts charts are Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories at number 112, Crimes of Passion at number 127, Serial Killers at number 151, and Survival at number 178.
In addition to their current lineup of podcasts, Parcast has 20 new shows that are set to be released later this year.
Recent acquisitions highlight Spotify's main goal: offering not just music, but essentially any content that subscribers would want to listen to https://t.co/MGlnIXNQkQ
— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) March 26, 2019
“The addition of Parcast to our growing roster of podcast content will advance our goal of becoming the world’s leading audio platform,” Spotify Chief Content Officer Dawn Ostroff explains in a statement. “Crime and mystery podcasts are a top genre for our users and Parcast has had significant success creating hit series while building a loyal and growing fan base. We’re excited to welcome the Parcast team to Spotify and we look forward to supercharging their growth.”