Courtney Holt helped bring Joe Rogan and the Obamas to the platform.
For a long time, Spotify has been more than just a music streaming service. As part of its quest to become a big player in the world of podcasts, it has purchased exclusive shows and struck significant deals over the last few years. Courtney Holt, who had a crucial part in bringing the Obamas, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as well as controversial comedian Joe Rogan to the platform, was one of the corporate executives who helped make it happen. Holt is departing the company after almost five years, according to The Ankler.
Holt is reportedly stepping down in the coming weeks but will stay on as an advisor for a year. Spotify will divide his work and team between Max Cutler, the head of new content initiatives, and Julie McNamara, head of its US studios. As The Ankler notes, Holt’s departure comes shortly after Lydia Polgreen stepped down as the managing director of Gimlet, one of the podcast studios Spotify purchased in 2019 along with Anchor and Parcast. Holt also helped Spotify clinch those deals.
The executive didn’t say why he’s leaving the company and posted a simple thanks to Spotify on Twitter:
- Apple now permits Netflix, Spotify, and other’reader’ apps to link to their respective websites for payment.
- Google will begin testing alternatives to its Play Store billing system with Spotify.
Apparently, there’s growing unrest within the company regarding massive podcast acquisitions that haven’t been delivering the kind of results and audiences Spotify expects. If you need an example of the scale of the company’s acquisitions: Its deal with Rogan reportedly cost it at least $200 million. The Joe Rogan Experience isn’t one of the shows that hasn’t lived up to Spotify’s expectations, seeing as it’s the top podcast on the service. However, it did demonstrate that the company wasn’t quite prepared to deal with the issues original content might bring.
Rogan and Spotify came under fire earlier this year after the host guested Dr. Robert Malone, who’s known for spreading unfounded claims about COVID-19 and its vaccines. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek also apologized to the company’s employees after it was brought to light that Rogan used racist language in some of the show’s episodes, which have since been removed. Ek remained steadfast in his stance not to remove episodes with misinformation, though, claiming that preserving them fostered “critical thinking and open debate.”
