SPOTIFY IS LOSING ITS AUDIOBOOKS CHIEF

Spotify is losing another talk content executive. The Verge has learned that Nir Zicherman, who leads the company’s new audiobook vertical, will be leaving the company this year. He will depart as one of the last remaining executives who built Spotify’s podcasting business. Zicherman co-founded podcast creation and distribution tool Anchor with Michael Mignano, who left Spotify last year. Spotify bought Anchor in 2019 for $150 million, at which point Zicherman and Mignano joined the company’s product division. Zicherman took charge of the audiobook business in 2022. He will stay on until October 1st to help set up the next audiobook lead, according to Spotify spokesperson Rosa Oh. Spotify’s audiobook team also works closely on business strategy with David Kaefer, the company’s VP of business affairs, Oh says. Kaefer will support the transition and continue working with the company’s new audiobook leader. Spotify debuted its audiobook vertical last fall after completing its $123 million acquisition of audiobook distributor Findaway. The vertical adopted an a la carte purchase model, which has been complicated by Apple’s strict in-app purchase rules. However, Zicherman told Hot Pod in February that the company is looking to develop new business models for audiobooks.

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