Substack launches podcast network Booksmart Studios

Newsletter platform Substack is making a substantial investment in a new podcast network dubbed Booksmart Studios, Axios reports.

What’s happening: Substack is expanding its community and publishing opportunities to compete with the growing number of companies offering paid newsletter features as well as other revenue opportunities with creator funds, tipping, and marketplaces. While podcasters have long used Substack, the company said Booksmart will serve as a research opportunity for how successful independent podcast networks can be.

“Booksmart Studios is bringing deep expertise to a broad audience in an accessible way and is an exciting case study for what’s possible for independent podcast networks. We’re thrilled to have them join the Substack ecosystem and know they will be leaders in expanding podcast publishing on the platform.” —Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie told Radio Ink

Booksmart: A pair of veteran radio journalists will lead Booksmart, which has been given a “six-figure advance” to launch the service, Axios reported. Matthew Schwartz, a Murrow Award-winning NPR contributor, and Michael Vuolo, former producer for WNYC’s Peabody Award-winning On the Media, will serve as co-founders and executive producers. The network will launch with five new podcasts to which people can subscribe for $7/month.

“Throughout my career, I’ve worked with NPR member stations and established media companies, but I’ve never worked with anyone that seems to care about the success of its content creators like Substack does. They have done everything they can to help us make our creative vision a reality,” —Matthew Schwartz told Radio Ink

Substack’s plans: Similar to its cut on newsletters, Substack will take 10 percent of podcast subscription revenues. McKenzie said that Substack plans to continue making more investments in publishing features over the next year.

Bulletin: Facebook recently launched its Substack newsletter competitor, Bulletin, in the hopes of attracting more revenue-generating creators. Bulletin launched with a splash, announcing that author Malcolm Gladwell, Queer Eye co-host Tan France, sports broadcaster Erin Andrews, and others would offer subscribers a wide range of content. Facebook says it won’t take a cut from writers for the time being, and authors own their content and subscriber lists.

Zuckerberg lurks: Facebook is investing $1 billion in creators through 2022. It plans to attract creators with features like Bulletin, its (Clubhouse copy) Live Audio Rooms as well as monetization products like Stars, which lets creators earn money by connecting with fans during live videos, and affiliate, a tool that lets creators earn a commission from tagging sponsored products.

Twitter: Like Facebook — and several other social media companies — Twitter is investing in creator-focused products. In January, Twitter acquired the newsletter tool Revue, which lets users create and offer paid newsletter subscriptions within the app. Twitter made Revue’s Pro features free for all accounts and lowered the paid newsletter fee to a 5 percent cut. Twitter also offers creators revenue features such as Super Follows, Ticketed Spaces, and tipping.

What's ahead: We're seeing a movement among social media and other tech companies to offer creators as many tools as possible to generate revenue on their platforms and retain their audiences. As a result, we may end up seeing several of these companies — especially Facebook and Twitter — duplicating the same suite of creator-focused features. That competition may ultimately benefit creators, which will have a host of options through which they can offer content and monetize their fans.

What do you think of Substack’s strategy? Would you launch a podcast on Substack? Share your thoughts below.