Anchor is joining Spotify
Today marks the beginning of a whole new chapter for Anchor and our mission to democratize audio. Our co-founders Michael Mignano and Nir Zicherman share their perspective on the big news.
Anchor is the best way to make your podcast, and now it’s officially part of Spotify. Through a strategic acquisition announced today, we’ll be bringing Anchor’s suite of tools for podcast creation, distribution, and monetization, to Spotify’s community of more than 200 million global users. Most importantly, podcasters everywhere will now have the power of the world’s most forward-thinking audio company building tools designed specifically for them. Podcasting, as we know and love it, will forever be changed for the better.
In 2014, the two of us became obsessed with podcasts. Inspired by now-classics like Serial, the Grantland network, Gimlet’s Startup, Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, and countless others, we tried to start podcasts of our own… only to become discouraged by the complicated process and expensive hardware we found ourselves endlessly researching. We quickly realized we weren’t alone, so we set out to create a better way to make podcasts. With a mobile-first approach, a willingness to quickly iterate, and an ability to move (and fail!) fast, we embarked on building the future.
A few short years and a rapid product evolution later, Anchor is powering more than 40% of all new podcasts and giving people all over the world the ability to have their voices heard. Moreover, through the recent launch of Anchor Sponsorships, Anchor has already more than doubled the number of total podcasters in the market who’ve been able to generate revenue by advertising. It’s been a journey we feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced, in pursuit of a mission to democratize audio that inspires us daily. Today marks the beginning of a whole new chapter for that mission, and in many ways, we’re just getting started.
When we first discussed joining forces, Daniel Ek — Spotify’s founder and CEO — told us that Spotify wanted to “give Anchor superpowers”. Most importantly, we came to the conclusion that our two companies’ missions are perfectly aligned. As Daniel and Spotify’s Chief Research & Development Officer Gustav Söderström expressed to us, Spotify’s mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it. It was at that moment we realized Spotify is the perfect home for Anchor.
If you’re already using Anchor to make your podcast, today’s news means great things for your ability to create and build your show. To be clear, the way you create, distribute, and monetize on Anchor does not change. We will continue to operate Anchor’s platform as you know it (but now as part of Spotify!), and in fact it will only be getting better. This means more tools, more data, and more power to make a great podcast and get it heard by audiences all over the world. You can expect our usual rapid cadence of industry-changing product updates, along with many new surprises that will further establish us as the best way to make your podcast.
We couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come, or more grateful for the support we’ve received over the years from the podcasting community, our incredibly supportive board members, investors, and advisors, as well as our families and friends. And most of all, we’re grateful for the (ever-growing) team that builds Anchor every day with thoughtfulness, passion, and a dedication to creators and our mission.
We can’t wait to show you all what comes next.
Michael Mignano & Nir Zicherman
Anchor co-founders and CEO/CTO
