Casefile: The case of the missing podcast
This month, true crime podcast Casefile disappeared from the Australian Podcast Ranker without a trace. Usually occupying one of the top two slots on the chart, the popular show was nowhere to be seen in the February Top 200 shows list. It has left investigators baffled. How could such a popular show just go missing?
The solution, as it turns out, involves following the money: Casefile has signed an exclusive ad sales, hosting, and distribution deal with Acast – who don’t participate in the Podcast Ranker.
Casefile is one of the most successful podcasts — Australian or otherwise — in the history of the medium. It has racked up an astonishing 800 million downloads since launching in 2016, with another 80 million predicted this year. The podcast’s Australian narrator and founder, “Casey”, remains anonymous.
Last year, the Casefile team partnered with Acast for a short run series, Casefile Presents: The Bakersfield Three. The podcast garnered 12 million downloads, and topped Apple’s Podcast Chart in the US. This was the first time Casefile had moved away from its previous distribution partner, Audioboom, and the results clearly impressed them enough to jump ship.
Lizzy Pollott is Acast’s global chief communications and brand officer. She leads all marketing, PR and brand activity for Acast, and tells Mumbrella that signing Casefile came after a concentrated effort from Acast’s Australian team.
“Our teams in Australia have been talking to the guys on and off for a while,” she said. “When we heard the news that Casefile had decided to join Acast, that was a big celebration for our teams all around the world, because it’s popular not just in Australia, you know? It’s highly popular in the UK, US, everywhere.”
Pollott says Acast’s track record in reliable tech, and its ability to earn its creators money without taking any of the intellectual property was attractive to the Casefile team.
“Part of me is like, ‘Yeah, well, of course, Casefile would choose to come to Acast.’ But, it was another great moment for us.”
Lizzy Pollott
Acast was founded in 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden, and launched in Australia three years later.
It deliberately positioned itself as “the home of independent creators,” Pollott says, rather than attempting to compete with the radio-heavy networks that dominate the Australian market. She said Acast’s goal is to “help podcasts launch, grow, succeed – and, crucially, to monetise.” It’s this last part that is most attractive to creators, she says.
“At the heart of what we do, we are an advertising business for podcasts.” To that end, it doesn’t splash out insane amounts of cash in order to secure big-name shows.
In 2019, Spotify disrupted the industry by spending north of US$1 billion buying up popular podcast networks at inflated prices. The splurge actually benefitted Acast, because it wiped out some of its competitors.
Popular US-based podcast networks Gimlet and Parcast were bought up by Spotify, mishandled, and then shut down. Spotify’s gamble in celebrity-driven podcasts saw it spend A$320 million for Joe Rogan, A$32m for Harry and Meghan, and another A$40 million to Barack and Michelle Obama.
The gamble didn’t pay off.
In 2023 alone, Spotify was forced to shed 27.5% of its workforce — some 2,300 employees — while Acast continued to grow steadily, signing smart deals and spending accordingly.
Rather than throwing money at shows up front and attempting to recoup later, Acast operates as an exclusive distribution and advertising partner, and invests in building internal teams to promote its podcasts around the world.
Acast now has offices in 15 different markets – and achieved its first full-year profit to date in 2024. Net sales grew by 19% to A$286.45 million, with the company turning a modest — but significant — A$3.6 million profit for the year.
Pollott puts this landmark down to a smart business model, coupled with “a lot of hard work, planning, and coordination between the different offices around the world.”
It was a big day for Acast, not the least because they had signalled the intent to turn a profit in 2024 some months before it actually eventuated.
“It’s a real milestone for any company to become profitable,” she said.
“We had some cupcakes in the office to celebrate – and then we’re back to it.”
SUBSCRIBE
Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.
