Yahoo Finance Why Spotify is banking on Kim Kardashian-West as platform binges on podcast deals
Spotify (SPOT) is “keeping up” with its impressive slate of podcasts by signing Kim Kardashian West.
Last week, the platform nabbed the reality TV star for an exclusive criminal podcast deal, according to multiple reports.
Kardashian, who is currently studying to become a lawyer, has been outspoken on criminal justice and prison reform over the past several years — most recently helping free Alice Marie Johnson from incarceration back in 2018.
In addition to Kardashian’s deal, the company also announced it will be exclusively producing and distributing an original slate of scripted podcasts with DC Comics and Warner Brothers.
The news sent Spotify shares soaring nearly 15% on Thursday, with the stock on track for its biggest weekly percentage gain on record.
Spotify has been aggressively expanding its podcast presence in order to compete with the likes of both Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOGL).
Last month, the company made waves by signing a massive multi-year licensing deal with Joe Rogan for the exclusive rights to his podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
The deal, reportedly worth $100 million, was just one layer of the company’s $600 million-plus effort to add onto its podcast empire, after the company purchased podcast maker Gimlet Media last year.
But Kardashian is not the only one to be making money moves this week. Her husband, rapper Kanye West, filed a new trademark for his fashion brand Yeezy under a variety of beauty categories that run the gamut from makeup to skin, hair and nail care products.
If West were to eventually launch a Yeezy beauty line like the trademark application suggests, he’d be directly competing with wife Kardashian’s KKW Beauty brand, along with sister-in-law Kylie Jenner’s widely successful Kylie Cosmetics.
But there might be enough room to go around, with the global beauty industry is poised to hit $150 billion by the year 2023.
Overall, celebrity beauty brands have done incredibly well in recent years — from Lady Gaga’s Haus Laboratories to Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty.
Kanye West came in second place on Forbes annual highest-paid celebrity ranking with the rapper earning $170 million over the paste 12 months, largely driven by his lucrative Yeezy sneakers deal with Adidas.
Alexandra is a Producer & Entertainment Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193
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