Image Credit: Spotify

Warner Music and Spotify join forces to produce podcasts about the hit songs released by the record company, and the stories of the artists who wrote them.

A new podcast deal has been signed by Spotify and Warner Music Group. The podcasts will unsurprisingly be focused on music, making use of Warner’s catalogue of artists and songwriters.

The partnership will produce podcasts which will launch on Spotify and explore songs released by Warner artists. The aim is to give fans an exclusive insight into the lives of their favourite artists, and reveal the stories behind the hits. It’s the first time Spotify has struck a podcast deal with one of the major labels.

Courtney Holt, VP Global Studios & Business at Spotify, said: “The most impactful podcasts share with music the key component of storytelling and personal experience. In partnership with Warner Music Group, we look to develop stories leveraging their unique artists and catalogue. We look forward to helping them leverage the power of podcasting to forge a deeper connection with fans.”

There were no announcements as to which artists would feature or what form the new podcasts will take, but Spotify’s current format for music podcasts and likewise Warner Music’s current podcasts give further clue of what to expect.

The record company produces Robert Plant’s Digging Deep; The Rhino Podcast telling the tales of music legends such as Aretha Franklin; and Duran Duran’s WHOOOSH!. Most recently, Warner have launched the BLK In America show in which Black artists including Saweetie and Rico Nasty discuss what it means to be Black in the US today.

Oana Ruxandra, EVP, Business Development and Chief Digital Officer of Warner Music Group, said: “We’re excited to take this step forward with Spotify as we strengthen and deepen our existing partnership. Podcasts provide an opportunity to unlock value for artists and songwriters by delivering fresh and unique stories to music to fans across the globe.”

The two companies described the deal as “innovative”, which fits with Spotify’s rhetoric at their Stream On event earlier this year. Music-themed podcasts bridge the gap between music and podcasts on the streaming platform; see Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama’s Renegades, for example. For a while Spotify has also been toying with podcasts that combine spoken audio and music for a hybrid, interactive experience.