Is Spotify's Exclusive Podcast Strategy Worthwhile?

The steady rise of podcasts as the next step in audio entertainment has attracted many businesses to the space, but music streamer Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) has been the most aggressive. From starting its own advertising network to buying studios and distribution platforms, the Swedish company is pouring hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars into podcast initiatives. One headline-grabbing tactic has been Spotify's multimillion-dollar deals with popular content creators to host them exclusively on Spotify.