Tag: creator Q+A

‘Two Hot Takes’ Host Morgan Absher Talks All-New Video Eps of Her Popular Podcast

Up-and-coming comedian Morgan Absher is the creator and host of Two Hot Takes, a wildly popular podcast that transforms viral Reddit stories into unfiltered laugh-out-loud discussions on relationships, friendships, and life’s wildest dilemmas. 

How did she get started? After graduating from her doctoral program during a global pandemic, Morgan turned to podcasting as a means to channel her obsession with Reddit and pass the time while searching for a job as an occupational therapist. Her hobby quickly gained momentum. Since its debut in February 2021, Two Hot Takes has amassed more than 60 million listens annually, and Morgan has gathered more than 5.2 million social followers.

Now, she’s launching video episodes of her show on Spotify. We caught up with Morgan to understand what makes her tick, her creative process, and how she envisions video upping her podcasting game.

Hi, Morgan, and congrats on your launch! First, a little history: What inspired you to start your show? 

Thanks! I talked about starting my show for about a year before I actually did it. In April 2020, I began begging friends to start it with me, as I had just graduated with a doctorate in occupational therapy but couldn’t do anything with it because of the Covid pandemic. I was in a really dark spot mentally, as so many were, but Reddit and the drama I found on there kept me entertained. Fast-forward to the holidays of that year and my boyfriend at the time—now fiancé—gifted me all the equipment and taught me how to edit. Shortly after that, the first episode was posted and it immediately found its people thanks to social media. 

And now you’re bringing video episodes to Spotify! How do you think working with us will help strengthen your connection with your fans?

A majority of my audience is audio listeners, so being able to partner with Spotify and now enhance their experience with video in an app they’re already using and love is so, so amazing. Just being able to hear a crazy title of a story and glance quickly to catch a reaction will really add to the experience for them, so I think it’s going to bring our community even closer together, increase engagement, and hopefully land itself in more people’s cars, homes, and adventures.

Has video changed the way you approach each episode?

I don’t think video has changed much of how I operate. I’ve always wanted to create a cozy, comfortable environment, on camera or not. When you’re recording video for two hours, the last thing you want is to feel uncomfortable or be constantly worrying about how you’re coming across on camera. I think it makes guests feel right at home, listeners can relax as they tune in, and we can get down to business and focus on what matters most: these crazy stories. 

Are there any Spotify features or tools you’ve found especially helpful?

I love the polls and questions features—it’s such a fun way to instantly get the listener’s thoughts on these stories—especially if we have one that we ourselves really have a hard time deciding on. It’s also a great way to hear what guests would like to see. It makes the community closer and really gives them a voice in our show, too. 

What advice do you have for emerging creators?

Don’t be your own biggest barrier. It can feel so daunting to start, but the best thing you can do is try. I think my show is the perfect example of: You never know what could come out of trying something you’re passionate about. Watch videos on how to get started and just do it! Don’t focus on having the best equipment. Don’t worry about your set being perfect. Just focus on having fun and making content you’re excited about. Your people will find you if you start putting it out there, which feels a little Kevin Costner-in-Fields of Dreams-ish, but it’s so true.

Finally, who are some of your favorite creators?

I love Hannah Berner and Chris Klemens—some of the most fun, witty, kind people I’ve met on this normal-person-to-content-creator journey. Also Joe Santagato and all my friends over at Smosh. I don’t think I laugh more than when I’m watching their content.

From Hobby to Phenomenon: ‘Acquired’ Cohost David Rosenthal on the Secret to Podcast Success

Some of the world’s top creators joined Spotify at our L.A. campus today for Now Playing, where we unveiled a series of new offerings aimed at helping them better monetize their video podcasts on Spotify and grow their audiences. This marks our biggest update to podcasts on Spotify, including an exciting evolution of the name and brand of our accompanying platform to Spotify for Creators—all to better serve the multiformat needs of our community.

Guests mingled with Spotify leaders and employees, explored our cutting-edge production facilities, and attended panels to hear more about their business opportunities on Spotify. Among these creators was David Rosenthal, who cohosts Acquired with Ben Gilbert

David Rosenthal, Colin Rosenblum, Samir Chaudry and Austin Lamon (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Spotify)

Acquired delves deep into the world’s most fascinating companies, delivering one multihour, meticulously researched episode every six weeks or so. Since debuting in 2015, the show has become a podcast sensation. It has racked up more than 5.2 million listening hours on Spotify since 2019, with consumption hours tripling in the last year alone. And in September, Acquired packed San Francisco’s Chase Center with 6,000 fans for a live show, which included a conversation with Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek.

With so much buzz about the future of podcasting, For the Record caught up with David to learn about Acquired’s origins, the creative process behind the show, and the impact Spotify has had on its journey.

What inspired you to start your show?

We were just friends with a common esoteric interest in company histories and wanted an excuse to scratch that itch and spend more time together. We had no idea or expectations that it would ever amount to anything more than a hobby, let alone change our lives so totally and completely!

How do you select the topics you cover?

We just follow our interests! While we do have a long list of potential future companies to cover, after each episode Ben and I generally just ask ourselves, “What are we most excited about doing right now?” and go with that. Sometimes that’s already on the list and sometimes it’s not.

How has working with Spotify helped strengthen your connection with your fans?

We can’t overstate enough how much Spotify has done to make podcasts mainstream and grow the ecosystem over the past several years. There’s no way we’d be able to reach an audience that’s now in the millions without the platform Spotify has built!

What advice do you have for emerging creators?

One, only do this if you love it. Not because there’s no money in it—there is plenty. But the marketplace for content is so incredibly vast today that unless you’re truly the most obsessed person in the world about your particular niche, someone else will do it better than you. (And they are only one click away, for your audience.) And I think the only way to be the most obsessed person in the world about something is to deeply love it.

Two, quality over quantity—always, always, always. One truly great episode per month is worth infinitely more than four or 10 mediocre ones.

Are there any Spotify features or tools that are especially helpful for you?

We don’t do video often, but when we do for something special (like our recent Chase Center show), being able to have it seamlessly integrate and sync with the audio version on Spotify is tremendously awesome.

Who are some of your favorite creators to follow?

Resonant Arc (deep retro video game analysis). It’s like Acquired for the old-school video games I grew up with.

What are you currently listening to?

Ben Thompson’s [Stratechery episode] on Meta’s AI advantage.

Check out more coverage from Spotify’s Now Playing event.

Culture Next 2024: The Major Gen Z Trends That Are Shaping Audio Streaming

As Gen Zers continue to put their stamp on the world, the conversation around these tastemakers is becoming noisier than ever. Understanding what inspires, captivates, and drives this generation is not always clear. But for many Gen Zers, Spotify is an essential companion, and we that believe the music, podcasts, and playlists that soundtrack their lives offer valuable insight into the mindset of this generation. 

That’s why each year we release our Culture Next report to highlight the different ways Gen Z is shaping streaming, online culture, and the world at large—and to help advertisers connect with them in meaningful ways. 

For the 2024 Culture Next report, we developed our insights using a couple of approaches. First, we looked at our streaming data to establish a broad snapshot of what—and how—Gen Z streams on Spotify.

Second, we talked to Gen Zers all around the world to gain their individual perspectives on how streaming fits into their day-to-day lives. This helped us shape our three main Culture Next report insights:

  • Gen Z loves using Spotify to build and strengthen personal connections.
  • Gen Z turns to Spotify to soundtrack the milestone moments in their lives.
  • Gen Z tastes continue to veer toward the mainstream.

For the Record sat down with three Gen Z influencers—Eric Sedeño, Jules Terpak, and Clarke Peoples—to get an even more personal glimpse into how today’s rising tastemakers consume and discover content on Spotify.

What is your favorite Spotify feature to use?

Eric Sedeño: My favorite feature right now is Jam because I just moved in with my boyfriend and it’s so fun to put on music together in our house.

Jules Terpak: I’m simple, so I tend to adore the basics, but I have to admit that I’ve been really impressed with DJ. Aside from Smart Shuffle, I’ve been tapping into DJ when I’m in the mood to discover new music. The commentary and transitions from X have great energy. 

Clarke Peoples: I love daylist. It always has such fun titles and good music based on the time of day. 

How do you think Spotify is creating a sense of community and connection on its platform? 

Eric: Through the amazing personalization features—especially Spotify Wrapped. Wrapped has become one of the biggest days for people on socials, and music feels so shareable with Spotify. It’s so easy to put a song on your Instagram story that I’m always shocked when someone doesn’t use it. 

Jules: I think music bridges the digital and physical worlds the best out of all the industries right now. Podcasts are also starting getting into in-person events, which is beautiful to see. 

I do think people online throw around the word “community” far too lightly, when in reality what’s often being created is more of a network. I have a hard time calling anything a community until there’s a physical-world component. 

Luckily the world of music, podcasts, and audiobooks can translate to the physical world quite seamlessly, so I hope that’ll evolve further in the future. 

Clarke: I love that you can create collaborative playlists with friends! I love doing this before having people over.

What are some of the unique ways you use Spotify?

Eric: I’ve been using the new AI Playlist feature a lot, and I don’t think people really utilize that feature enough yet. 

Jules: I think the fact that I use all three content offerings—music, podcasts, and audiobooks—is unique. A lot of my friends hadn’t realized that audiobooks are now a perk of Premium. Not to sound salesly, but they’ll be on the wave eventually. 

I also post all of my YouTube videos that aren’t podcasts to Spotify. It’s something I don’t think video creators are taking advantage of. However people want to access my work, I’m down for it. 

Clarke: I live for my daylist and video podcasts. I love the uniqueness of daylist and watching my favorite podcasters!

How do you think video content is changing the streaming experience? 

Eric: I think that it has made it so much more fun. I love watching podcasts on Spotify. Also, outside of the app, I think video has made it way easier for people to find Spotify content that speaks to them, because so many clips and snippets from shows are shared on social media. 

Jules: Video becoming such an integral part of podcasts definitely makes them inch closer to talk shows rather than radio shows. For creators, this adds more to the production process, but for viewers, I think video provides more context and stimulation.

That said, I do feel audio-only podcasts will develop a certain comforting aura around them that some fans will prefer. 

Clarke: Personally, I love it. I think it is so engaging for audiences and helps viewers to get to know creators better. 

Describe Gen Z in three words. 

Eric: Fast. Overwhelmed. Unserious.

Jules: Outspoken, malleable, and entertaining.

Clarke: Collaborative, tenacious, and open-minded.

Can you share a few of the recent playlist titles you’ve created? 

Eric: My most recent is Run Rico Run because I was training for the NYC marathon.

Jules: Jules Gems is my master playlist (and the only one I currently have public). I’m the type to have hyperfixations and be loyal to a song that catches my attention forever, so that’s where they live.

The Scenario is my playlist that outlines a recent pivotal life transition. The name is so corny now that I think about it, but it was super spur-of-the-moment. I didn’t give it much thought. 

Otherwise, I typically name my playlists by year and dump whatever songs resonated with me during that time frame. Or I do an artist’s name as the title and dump all of my favorite songs from them—again, to feed the hyperfixations. 

Clarke: Girls night, Summer in Paris, Flashback Favorites.

What are you currently listening to?

Eric: My favorite podcasts are The Comment Section with Drew Afualo, I’ve Had It, and Good Children. I was also listening to a self-help audiobook called Atomic Habits for a while and that was a nice change of pace.

Jules: A recent artist is 2hollis. And a recent audiobook is Alone Together by Sherry Turkle.

Clarke: I’ve been loving podcasts recently! I listen to them on my 14-mile walks.

Scratching the surface

These are just a few of many takeaways found in our Culture Next 2024 report. For more insights, statistics, and recommendations for brands looking to connect with Gen Z on Spotify, you can download the full report here

For more Gen Z insights and trends, be sure to visit Spotify Advertising.