a16z Podcast Market Overview

Request for Startups Full-Stack Platform for Paid, Exclusive Audio Content ● Platform creating premium, exclusive audio content in areas where there is high propensity to pay: Like standalone educational video platforms that have successfully monetized in the US, there's an opportunity to create in-depth audio content that users may be willing to pay for, that are more educational/ self-improvement-oriented ● Examples: O Aaptiv (fitness audio app) reached $20M revenue in 2 years O Calm (meditation & sleep audio) reached $150M revenue run rate in 2018 An Edison Research/Knight Foundation study of public radio consumers found that these listeners had "a stronger preference for fewer stories/greater depth (41%) than a wide variety of shorter segments (10%) Value-add features tailored to a specific vertical to enhance stickiness and engagement © 2019 - Andreessen Horowitz Social Audio Social audio platform with interactivity (user <--> user, creator) and UGC Social needs to be core to the experience rather than optional layer on top of existing free podcast content, which isn't enough to attract critical mass of users Known Brands Launching Own Platforms for Podcasts Opportunity for major podcast publishers & well-known brands to create owned platform for distributing their own content Influential podcast publishers with large follower bases could create a podcast platform with better monetization, given their brands and followings Startup opportunity for turnkey platform to help creators distribute and monetize content Existing examples of media brands who have created their own properties: Slate Plus, The Athletic (paywalled podcast product), BBC Sounds 68

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