Sony Music Propelled Into Podcasting

• Sony Music Entertainment is diving headfirst into the red-hot podcasting space, launching a joint venture with two leading podcast producers: Adam Davidson, co-founder of NPR’s Planet Money, award-winning contributor to This American Life and Contributing Writer to The New Yorker, and Laura Mayer, a top podcast and public radio producer who has worked at Panoply Media, WNYC and most recently, at Stitcher, where she was the Executive Producer for Show Development. This joint venture will create and distribute original scripted and unscripted programming across multiple podcast genres and subject matters.

Based in Brooklyn, NY, Davidson (left) and Mayer (right) will lead the still-unnamed company and focus on cultivating dynamic talent and unique storytelling using Sony Music’s expertise in content creation and supporting new technologies for monetization. According to a story in Variety, Sony Music owns 50% of the venture and is investing an undisclosed sum, while Davidson and Mayer each hold a 25% stake.

Rob Stringer, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment said, “Adam Davidson and Laura Mayer are acclaimed, visionary journalists and leaders in the podcasting industry and they share our creator-first approach to content development. We want to enhance opportunities for talented storytellers in this rapidly evolving audio entertainment segment. This partnership will help creators grow their brands and share their work with global audiences across a variety of services and platforms.”

Commenting on the deal, Davidson and Mayer jointly stated, “It’s a thrilling time to be in podcasting with major media and tech companies paying increasing attention to the industry as it quickly grows. Sony Music so impressed us with their focus on supporting artists and the creative process. They understand what it takes to attract the best people and create the conditions where they can do their best work.”