BMG has joined forces with fellow Bertelsmann UK content businesses – Fremantle, Penguin Random House UK, and DK – to offer podcasts as a new service for its artists.
Christened Storyglass, the new podcast business is the first major output of the recently established Bertelsmann Content Alliance UK. An official press release stated that the alliance “will create new formats and unique marketing opportunities, establishing an innovative and powerful partner for creative professionals.”
The press release claimed that Bertelsmann invests “more than 5 billion euros a year in creative content worldwide.”
Speaking about the move, Alistair Norbury, president, marketing & repertoire, BMG UK said: “At BMG we put the artist and their brand at the centre of our business. We are always looking for new ways to foster their creativity, and the Content Alliance opens up a unique infrastructure to do so. The launch of Storyglass offers a significant extension of our services to artists.”
Storyglass will operate as a standalone Bertelsmann company and focus on developing and producing podcasts of all genres, complementing the output of each of the businesses across TV, media, books and music in a UK Audio Alliance.
Baroness Gail Rebuck, chair of the Bertelsmann Content Alliance UK, commented: “Creativity defines each of these businesses and I am excited to see what this collaboration can produce. Audio has always proved a really powerful tool to connect audiences with great stories, and we are confident that this alliance and the new-look Storyglass will mean we are set up to deliver world-class series.”
BMG, Fremantle, and Penguin Random House have already had joint success in the podcasting space, with This Is Spoke – a youth culture series which brings together some of the UK’s most courageous influencers across the music, literature, media, digital and cultural industries.
The UK Alliance follows similar initiatives that have launched across the Bertelsmann Group in Germany. A German Bertelsmann Content Alliance which exists between Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, RTL Radio Deutschland, the TV production company UFA, Verlagsgruppe Random House, Gruner + Jahr, and the music company BMG, was launched in February 2019 creating many new and diverse projects.
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