Meta is pulling out of the podcast arena and will close down its live audio and podcast service starting June 3rd – only one year after the launch in June 2021. The service has only been available in the US. The company will impede creators from adding podcasts to the service already this week.

Sesamy has signed a new podcast deal with Third Ear Group, which enables android users to purchase single episodes or series from the podcast company without a subscription.

Warner Music Group has announced that it will launch a podcast network. Podcasts hosted by Lupita Nyong’o and Jason Derulo are already set for its roster of shows. The company has established Interval Presents, which will produce an array of series featuring topics of music, pop culture and social impact – including both talk shows and narrative-driven episodic shows.

Spotify is set to become the first music streamer to launch on online gaming platform Roblox. The company will launch “Spotify Island,” a place where artists and fans may gather to play interactive quests, unlock exclusive content, and buy artist merchandise.

Smokehouse Pictures, a production company founded by George Clooney and film producer Grant Heslov, has announces an exclusive deal with Audible. As part of this collaboration, Audible and Smokehouse Pictures will create a slate of audio-only original projects.

Spotify shares were down -12.4% after the company posted its Q1 earnings on Wednesday last week. The company has lost more than -50% of its stock value year-to-date in 2022. This negative reaction from the market, came despite Spotify Q1 earnings exceeding expectations, except for advertising revenues.Total revenues amounted to EUR 2.7 billion in Q1 2022, representing a year-over-year growth of +24%. Premium revenues amounted to EUR 2.4 billion (+23% year-over-year) while ad-supported revenues amounted to EUR 236 million (+31% year-over-year) – representing 11% of total sales, and thereby missing the market consensus. Total premium (paid) subscribers reached 182 million (+15% year-over-year), of course affected by a -1.5 million subscriber loss from exiting the Russian market.

A few other interesting Spotify stats, not related to earnings or subscribers: 67% of the 8 million artists on Spotify have released fewer than 10 tracks in their lifetime on the platform. Nearly 80% of artists on Spotify today (around 6.3 million) – have a monthly audience on the platform that is smaller than 50 people. And approximately 61% of all tracks on Spotify has been played less than 1 000 times to date.

Ny strömningstjänst till Sverige – men marknaden bromsar in – SVT

Efter Netflix ras – så påverkas strömningsjättarna i Sverige – Journalisten 

Spotifys börskurs i kollaps – SvD Näringsliv 

Nents vd: ”Vi befinner oss i en annan fas än Netflix” – Dagens Industri

HBO Max er tilbage i dansk streamingtop efter relancering – Mediawatch

Tv-kritiker om Netflix tapp: Intryck att de testar idéer – Omni 

35 procents aktieras för Netflix – jätten kovänder – Svenska Dagbladet  

Netflix tappar – men växer i Sverige – Aftonbladet 

Globalt tapp för streaming – så kan Telia och Nent drabbas – Dagens Industri