Sony Music Entertainment (SME) has acquired Somethin’ Else, one of the biggest independent podcast producers in the UK.
The move will see the record label, home to acts including Beyonce and Little Mix, expand its global podcast division and accelerate its in-house production capabilities.
It is the latest in a series of deals that have seen smaller podcast producers picked up by music groups and tech companies.
We are very excited to announce we are becoming part of @sonymusic https://t.co/Mu6LFsw924
— Somethin' Else (@SomethinElse) June 16, 2021
In December, Amazon Music acquired Wondery, the podcast network behind hits such as true crime series Dirty John, while Apple recently launched a podcast subscription service.
Jez Nelson and Steve Ackerman, Somethin’ Else’s chief executive and chief content officer, said in a joint statement: “We’re delighted to be joining Sony Music at what feels like a critical moment in the growth and acceleration of the global podcast industry.
“Somethin’ Else is known as the leading premium podcasting production company in the UK and our ambition is to harness that drive and creativity to make Sony Music a global market leader.
“Sony Music is renowned for always putting the artists first in everything they do, and we’ve seen that culture fully embedded in their podcast offering too.
“That global expertise, artist first culture, and ability to cut through the noise has huge appeal to podcasting talent and we look forward to harnessing that in this new chapter of our business.”
Dennis Kooker, president of global digital business at SME, said: “Expanding our relationship with Somethin’ Else brings their best-in-class capabilities and production expertise fully into the Sony Music family.
“Our new global podcast division is key to our plans for a fast-paced expansion in the market, diversifying our creative abilities and providing a home for exciting content that will benefit millions of podcast-lovers around the world.”
Somethin’ Else, which was acquired for a unknown sum, has bases in London and New York.
It is the BBC’s biggest independent producer of programmes, covering various music genres and speech shows for the broadcaster, but has in recent years developed a partnership with Sony on a number of podcast projects.
These include David Tennant Does A Podcast With… and Power: The Maxwells, which explores the life and death of media tycoon Robert Maxwell.