Major label Sony Music steps into podcasting with new joint venture

Sony Music Entertainment is making a new move into podcasting. The major label has entered a joint venture with two podcast veterans — Laura Mayer and Adam Davidson — to find and develop original programming and talent. The as-yet-unnamed company will create and distribute original podcasts, both scripted and unscripted, across a range of genres and topics. The venture will combine Sony Music’s content creation expertise with the experience of Mayer and Davidson.

Mayer is a producer for podcasts and audio. She has held roles at Panoply, WNYC Radio, and most recently at Midroll Media/Stitcher. Davidson co-founded the popular Planet Money podcast and is a contributor to This American Life and co-host of Surprisingly Awesome on Gimlet Media.

“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,” Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer said. “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.”