I’m not sure what happens when two high-profile companies with seemingly obtuse profiles in the same industry collide in one headline. But that’s exactly what’s going on, as news began to leak earlier this week that music/podcast streaming service Spotify is in “advanced talks” to buy music/podcast distribution service SoundCloud.

Of course, this blog is focused on news about podcasting. And while both SoundCloud and Spotify have their own places in the current podcast market, it’s been a bit off an odd trip for both companies:

• SoundCloud began as a collaboration tool for musicians but later morphed into a music sharing and distribution hub, eventually adding support for podcasts. SoundCloud’s podcasting program was in beta for years before it officially launched. The company has been hemorrhaging money, burning thru multiple rounds of venture capital in an attempt to stay ahead of mounting financial pressure from the major record labels. SoundCloud launched its own premium music-streaming service and began running ads against content for non-paying account holders. Curiously, the company has mostly kept the music and podcasting sides separate. But apparently, embedded SoundCloud players featuring podcast episodes will automatically begin to play SoundCloud-hosted music files if the player isn’t paused after the podcast is finished. This can happen without warning, much to the chagrin of podcasters who thought they were embedding single-episode players onto their websites.
• Spotify is the Swedish-born music-streaming platform that perfected the idea of the Celestial Jukebox; Any song from any artist whenever you want it at the touch of a button. The company grew slowly as it moved into more markets around the world, finally pushing into North America five years ago. When Spotify announced in 2015 that it would be adding support for podcasts, it felt like this could be some seriously new ground for podcasting to break. But Spotify has chosen to work with a small group of content partners and the company has been very slow to add new shows to its podcast directory. And while Spotify has done better in the revenue department than SoundCloud, Spotify was still taking on new debt from investors earlier this year.

Just what any of this means for podcasting is anyones guess. Spotify could try to absorb SoundCloud into its existing platform, or it could let SoundCloud continue to operate independently. Tho, I’m not sure I like the name SpotiCloud. However, Soundify does have a nice ring to it.