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Porn on Spotify Is Infiltrating the Platform’s Top Podcast Charts

The sexually explicit videos, which Spotify doesn’t allow, have shown up alongside some of the most popular podcasts on the service

The Spotify logo on a smartphone arranged in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023.

Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg
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Hello and welcome back to Soundbite. As Spotify Technology SA has pushed into video, a recurring problem — pornography — has surfaced and is no longer lurking in the platform’s dusty corners. These videos are now populating some of the most prominent podcast charts. We looked into it. Meanwhile, Audacy Inc. is in the market trying to sell a storied podcast studio, and we got our hands on the financials.

More on that below. As always, subscribe to this newsletter if you aren’t already and reach me through email with tips, feedback and whatever else is on your mind.