Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert is the latest popular podcast that will become a Spotify exclusive. All past and future episodes will be available exclusively on the service starting July 1. The company also signed a deal with Armchair Umbrella Network to get first dibs on any other show the network creates. It isn't known how long Spotify will license the show because the terms of the deal weren't shared. But the podcast will move the hosting to Megaphone, a Spotify company, and Spotify will handle its ad sales in-house.
As The Verge pointed out, a key component of Spotify's podcasting strategy is to offer the shows both to free and paying users while keeping the ads in the shows so it can earn from every podcast listen. Having a popular show exclusive on its platform, like Armchair Expert, will draw in more listeners, which can help the company sell more ads.