Podcast developers Adam Davidson and Laura Mayer and Sony Music Entertainment have announced a new joint venture to develop original podcast talent and programming.

Davidson is the co-founder of NPR’s Planet Money and an award-winning contributor to This American Life. Mayer is a podcast and public radio producer formerly of Stitcher, Panoply Media, and WNYC among others.

The joint venture will create and distribute original scripted and unscripted programming across multiple podcast genres and subject matters.

Based in Brooklyn, NY, Davidson and Mayer will lead the yet-to-be-named company and draw on Sony Music’s experience in content creation and supporting new technologies for monetisation of podcasts. 

Davidson and Mayer said: “It is a thrilling time to be in podcasting with major media and tech companies paying increasing attention to the industry as it quickly grows. Sony Music so impressed us with their focus on supporting artists and the creative process. They understand what it takes to attract the best people and create the conditions where they can do their best work.”

Rob Stringer, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment, said: “Adam Davidson and Laura Mayer are acclaimed, visionary journalists and leaders in the podcasting industry and they share our creator-first approach to content development. We want to enhance opportunities for talented storytellers in this rapidly evolving audio entertainment segment. This partnership will help creators grow their brands and share their work with global audiences across a variety of services and platforms.”

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