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“Money, it’s a gas, Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash,” sang David Gilmore from the band Pink Floyd in a 1973 hit called Money. It’s a song whose lyrics still resonate with listeners nearly five decades later.
Dodging a long philosophical conversation on money – I am sure you have opinions on it – it’s safe to say that in the business world, monetization plays a crucial part that determines the very survival of a firm. This is particularly true for Indonesian audio firm Noice.
Think you’re having déjà vu? You’re absolutely right. Last week, we discussed at length about Noice’s rivalry with Spotify in Indonesia. In this week’s Big Story, my colleague Shadine goes even deeper to answer the key question of whether Noice can overcome its biggest hurdle: monetization. Several other podcast firms have tried their hand at earning cash in the past, but they’ve mostly tried and failed.
For instance, the Indonesian forum Kaskus discontinued its podcast streaming service last year, after three years in the game. Vietnam’s Waves is another streaming platform that shut shop in 2020, within months after it raised US$1.2 million in seed funding.
Noice has so far relied on advertising for revenue, but it’s now planning to deploy a new creator-driven monetization strategy.
As the Indonesian podcasting firm looks to implement its plan by the end of the year, Shadine draws a detailed analysis of the strategy’s pros and cons. The Gojek-backed firm is counting on its hyperlocal approach to tap into the market and is armed with an arsenal of rich content, spanning from audiobooks to livestreams. But will it be enough?
Speaking of financial health, my colleague Nikita analyzes how the healthtech space is moving toward specialized care with the help of investors. Read more in this week’s Making Waves.
— Kul Bhushan
PS: Given the recent spate of layoffs in Asia’s tech sector, we’ve unlocked our hiring tracker to give you a better view of the current landscape.
THE BIG STORY
Gojek-backed audio firm plays cashy tune
Image credit: Timmy Loen
VC-backed Noice plans to adopt a creator-driven revenue model by the end of 2022. Will it succeed in an industry plagued with monetization woes?
MAKING WAVES
FYI
NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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