Last year, Mel Robbins summoned four of the top podcasting networks to Boston to bid on the chance to work with her.
“I was not willing to do business with somebody who did not actually come and see our operations,” said Ms. Robbins, the longtime life coach behind “The Mel Robbins Podcast.”
She was in an enviable negotiating position. As she approached the end of her contract with the SiriusXM Podcast Network, her social media followers and episode downloads had swelled into the multimillions. She was still months away from the explosive publication of her Oprah Winfrey-approved self-help book, “The Let Them Theory.”
Yet Ms. Robbins ultimately chose to stay with her network. Best known for satellite radio, SiriusXM has quietly become a dominant player in podcasting, rivaling Spotify and Amazon’s Wondery — largely because of its impulse to cater to talent.
It now represents half of the top 20 podcasts in the United States, according to Edison Research, a firm that has ranked podcasts since 2019. That is more than any other network.
To get there, SiriusXM has made some lucrative deals, outspending or matching competitors in the frenzied race to persuade increasingly famous podcasters, such as Ms. Robbins or Alex Cooper of the show “Call Her Daddy,” to sign over their advertising and distribution rights. Headlines about $100 million podcast deals, including the comedy podcast “SmartLess,” raised eyebrows throughout 2024.
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The post Podcasting Is a Talent Business. SiriusXM Is Intent on Winning. appeared first on New York Times.
