Spotify Announced Acquisition Of 19 Podcast Titles

In line with its recent Culture Next Report that highlights how majority of the millennials and Gen Z in India consume audio to reduce stress and for self-help, Spotify announced the acquisition of 19 podcast titles. Starting today, 11 titles from the Art of Living and 8 from Josh Talks will be exclusively available on the audio streaming platform.

The Art of Living Foundation reaches followers across 156 countries, and engages in an array of topics, ranging from love and loss, to success and self-doubt, and from anxiety and depression, to meditation and coping. With the exclusive availability of podcasts around these topics on Spotify, the insights shared by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will reach an even wider global audience. 

The Culture Next Report showed that the average podcast listenership on Spotify in India increased by over 250% among millennials and over 300% among Zs in Q1 2021 vs. Q1 2020. Mental health witnessed the most impressive growth as a genre, with an increase of over 600% among millennials and more than 900% among Zs. Alternative health and spirituality emerged as other popular themes. Podcasts from Art of Living will cater to these listeners by blending ancient knowledge with modern anecdotes to help deal with strenuous life situations and champion simplicity. The content will be available in English and Hindi.

The second new Spotify Exclusive is the award-winning Josh Talks. Over the last few years, the organisation has brought over 2800 stories of relatable role models – entrepreneurs, civil servants, sportspersons, activists, and more – to inspire young Indians to do more and be more in life. In India, where podcasters are perceived as being authentic, accessible, and trustworthy by Gen Z and millennials, and where self-help is a popular genre, the exclusive availability of ‘Josh Talks’ on Spotify in eight languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Punjabi, Malayalam, and Bengali – is also expected to bring new listeners from across the country.

Spotify has several other Originals and Exclusives in the motivation, inspiration, and wellness space, such as The Ranveer Show, Yours Positively, God is Not Fair and Gita for the Young and Restless. This comes as no surprise given that in India, a little over 80% of millennials see audio as a mental health resource, and a similar percentage of Zs believe audio to be healing (Spotify Culture Next Report 2021).

Shared below are the 19 new podcast titles now exclusively available on Spotify: