Amazon Restructures Wondery, Industry Reacts [Multiple Sources]
Late last week Bloomberg’s Ashley Carman and Lucas Shaw published an article in which a source alleged Amazon was shutting down Wondery. The source claimed 110 jobs would be eliminated as the company streamlined to specifically focus on personality-focused creator-driven content. All narrative-focused podcasts are reportedly being moved under the Audible umbrella.
Amazon has since refuted the general claim Wondery is being shut down, as they are keeping the personality-driven podcasts under the Wondery brand. In response to the Bloomberg article, ABC News Executive Producer, Podcast Programming Laura Mayer wrote a piece on the podcasting industry. Mayer pushes against the premise narrative podcasting is unfeasible or slipping in the video world, reflecting on her childhood experience with legacy narratives like This American Life, and her experience producing Shameless Acquisition Target.
The Wondery restructuring is reportedly, in part, motivated by video podcasting’s popularity blurring the line between content creation for YouTube and “a podcast.” Barrett Media interviews several industry experts about the restructuring and associated layoffs, including Amplifi Media CEO Steven Goldstein, Thrumm founder Lindsay Graham, and Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster. When it comes to the future of the industry, Webster points to a few years ago when Amazon laid off several Zappos employees after acquiring the shoe-maker. “I believe the future of shoes, however, remains bright.”
When looking at data from the recent Driving to Action report, which demonstrates how Podcast Primes (respondents to The Advertising Landscape who consume podcasts daily/near-daily), Webster cautions against treating people as monoliths. Podcast Primes love podcasts, to be sure, but it’s not the only ad-supported medium they consume every day. A quote from Webster:
“So what is going on here? If people generally trust social media less than podcasting for advertising claims, and Podcast Primes tell us that Instagram is a strong second as a contributor for a variety of post-exposure actions, I think we can go further than simply saying “it’s good to have both,” and maybe speculate that they are playing different, supporting roles here. Instagram is all about grabbing attention, particularly in brief, “microvacations” multiple times throughout the day. Podcasting, on the other hand, is a significantly more lean-forward medium. It doesn’t seek to “grab” our attention; we willingly grant it for 30 or 60 minutes at a time. Listening to a podcast for an hour seems like a worthy investment in our mental health and growth, while scrolling Instagram for an hour seems…well, less so, at least as a social norm.”
While ads on social media are generally considered less ‘trustworthy’ than ads on podcasts, a podcast ad can effectively vouch for a brand the listener heard about first in passing on Instagram. Podcast ads stand on their own two feet (see: any and all of SoundsProfitable.com/Research), but their parasocial power makes them an excellent addition to social media marketing campaigns.
Spotify’s ‘Audiobooks Plus,’ Tested in World Markets, Arrives in the States
Hot on the tail of a recent marketing campaign pushing audiobooks using trendy music-focused slang, Spotify’s adding more to their audiobook offerings in the U.S. The Audiobooks Plus add-on allows Premium, Family, and Duo users to buy an additional 15 hours of audiobook listening on top of the 15 that come standard with Premium. While the price varies based on market, as it’s been demoed internationally first, the U.S. price for the recurring monthly add-on is additional $11.99 on top of the cost of Premium.
Speaking of costs, a blog post by Spotify has announced Premium subscriptions will increase in markets across South/Southwest Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific regions. An example email shows starting in September billing in regions using the Euro will go from 10,99 € to 11,99 €.
Most Americans Were Never Interested in Meghan Markle Podcasting by Jack Royston
Confessions of a Female Founder is Meghan Markle’s latest podcast production, and it’s following previous show Archetypes’ lead of receiving lukewarm reception. A YouGov survey of 5,400 U.S. adults back in December of 2020 asked how much interest they had in listening to a podcast by the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry’s podcasts. 8% marked “very interested” while 53% said “not at all interested.”
Markle is a bankable name, with her boutique brand As Ever consistently selling out products within minutes of release. Yet the YouGov survey stands as a reminder of the importance of purpose and clear intent. For a celebrity podcast to thrive, it needs the intentionality and commitment consistently found in successful examples (from Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, to The Ron Burgundy Podcast). Simply putting someone famous in front of a mic is not a full recipe.
Before we get into the quick hits, we’d like to draw special attention to a new episode of The Sound Off Podcast in which Cundill interviews former Signal Hill Insights president Jeff Vidler about moving towards retirement, his work in the audio world since the 80s, and where things look to be going in the near future.
Finally, it’s time for our Quick Hits:
- Sounds Profitable’s own Bryan Barletta is the guest a new episode of the PodBiz Podcast, discussing sustainable podcast growth, building industry transparency, and the future of audio as a media platform.
- The latest episode of How Stories Happen features our very own Tom Webster and host Jay Acunzo has a post teasing the conversation.
- Headgum co-founder Marty Michael celebrates the tenth anniversary of the company with a look back at Headgum’s growth.
- Audioboom reports their video revenue has doubled in the first half of 2025, with 13% of Audioboom and Adelicious revenue coming from video.
- Fairing Co-founder Matt Bahr has dropped “the closest thing you’ll find to a no-BS guide to attribution that actually works” after three months of effort by the Fairing team.
- Apple Podcasts has published a Best So Far 2025 list of ten podcasts, including Multitude’s This Guy Sucked, Spotify’s Good Hang with Amy Poehler, and 20/20’s Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy.
