Former MTV exec Andy Schuon says his new app solves the podcast discovery problem

Spkr

• Ex-MTV exec Andy Schuon launched an app called Spkr on Thursday that he says solves the podcast discovery problem.
• Spkr presents listeners with AI-picked podcast clips for them to test before committing to hearing an entire episode.
• Schuon said this new approach would help big and small podcasts attract new listeners.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As the podcasting industry grows, listeners have become overwhelmed with choices and content creators struggle to make their shows stand out. Former MTV exec Andy Schuon has a new app called Spkr that sets out to solve podcasting's discovery problem.

Spkr, which is backed by investors, plays short clips from various podcasts when the user opens it. Users can swipe to skip past clips they're not interested in or listen to full episodes directly on the app.

The content is chosen by experts from companies like SiriusXM, so first-time users will hear their picks off the bat, but the app uses AI to learn what users like and personalize its clips over time.

Spkr hit the App Store for iPhone users on Thursday and will eventually expand into Android, Schuon told Business Insider. It's free to download, but Schuon said as it grows, he sees the potential to sell advertising and sponsorships and to expand to original content, leading to other revenue opportunities.

Schuon, who was programming head for MTV, VH1, MTV2, and KROQ-FM, said he sees podcast episodes as albums, and Spkr breaks them down into singles.

"We looked at the way music artists connect with audiences, and we wanted to create something that was as frictionless as radio and playlists are for music," he said. "We're really the first to present this content in short-form excerpts largely leading to longform consumption."

Spkr seeks to help grow listenership by cutting the search process

With shows from established media outlets and production companies like Wondery dominating podcast charts, it can be hard for lesser-known podcasts to grow their listenership. Spkr curators listen to independent podcasts to showcase such lesser-known options, Schuon said.

Spkr also wants to help new listeners daunted by the vast number of podcasts and confused about where to find them, Schuon said. Podcast genres are less defined than those of movies and TV, giving listeners another obstacle in sorting options.

"Listening is very different than watching," Schuon said. "All audio apps before Spkr have been built like Netflix, video-on-demand apps that start in silence, and they're like big warehouses of content that rely on algorithms and lists. We all know what a sitcom is. We all know what a drama is. We know what an action movie is. A lot of people don't know what health and wellness podcasts and true crime podcasts are."

Spkr's idea is that short clips can attract new listeners, as short-form content is on the rise across platforms. Startup Serial Box uses a short-form model to publish serialized segments of longer ebooks and audio books, and even streaming giants like Netflix are looking to invest more in shorter content.

While podcasting is on the rise, Schuon said there's still a large audience that hasn't yet been tapped into.

"There's two million people a day listening to 'The Daily,' but that means there's billions who aren't," he said of the popular news podcast from The New York Times. "We're really out to mainstream and accelerate the adoption of non-music audio on our platform."