Ava DuVernay Announces First New Podcast Under Spotify Deal

Spotify announced during its Stream On event, about the first podcast coming out of Spotify’s previously announced partnership with award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay (Selma, 13th, Queen Sugar). 

 During the event, DuVernay announced the forthcoming unscripted podcast, based on ARRAY’S Law Enforcement Accountability Project, which was launched after the murder of George Floyd by on-duty police officers.  

The podcast is an investigative series that chronicles officers who commit murder, revealing the alarming truth about the blue wall of silence that protects police after they pull the trigger. The series explores a new case each week, zeroing in on the lack of repercussions and accountability despite fatal wrongdoing. 

 As previously announced, Spotify and DuVernay will produce exclusive scripted and unscripted original audio programming through ARRAY, DuVernay’s multi-platform arts and social impact collective dedicated to narrative change.

 In January, Spotify and DuVernay announced that they will produce exclusive scripted and unscripted original audio programming through ARRAY, DuVernay’s multi-platform arts and social impact collective dedicated to narrative change.

"Spotify has stepped up to the plate," remarks podcast consultant George Witt. "They've added a strong lineup of content."

Now under the exclusive partnership, ARRAY joined Spotify and their global reach – which recently surpassed 144 million Premium subscribers and more than 320 million monthly active users around the world – to amplify a variety of voices and perspectives through podcasting. 

“Recognizing the undeniable power of voice and sound, I’m thrilled to extend ARRAY’s storytelling into the realm of podcasts,” shared DuVernay. “The opportunity to work with Lydia Polgreen and her passionate team drew us to Spotify as a home for our audio narratives and we couldn’t be more excited to begin this new creative journey.”

“Spotify’s partnership with ARRAY continues our commitment to bringing the world’s most powerful and creative voices into podcasting,” said Spotify Chief Content and Advertising Business Officer, Dawn Ostroff. “We look forward to Spotify listeners hearing from the exceptional creators that ARRAY will be bringing to our global platform.”

ARRAY will partner with Spotify’s Gimlet studio on a number of scripted and unscripted narrative podcasts overseen by ARRAY Filmworks President Sarah Bremner.

“Ava DuVernay and her team at ARRAY are at the forefront of telling powerful stories about the most pressing issues of our time,” said Lydia Polgreen, Managing Director of Gimlet. “We’re so excited to bring their passion for lifting up forgotten and neglected voices to life in audio.” 

All podcasts on Spotify, including those exclusive titles stemming from this partnership, are available for free. 

Podcast consultant Witt explains that this Spotify / ARRAY deal benefits the two companies and also the listeners. 

"Podcasting is attracting some big-name talent from other media," Witt notes. "ARRAY will most certainly bring compelling content to podcasting and to Spotify."

"The winner in all this content escalation is ultimately the listener," concludes Witt.