Original Programming to be Developed by Davidson and Mayer and Made Available Across a Variety of Podcast Platforms

NEW YORK – May 16, 2019 – Leading podcast developers Adam Davidson and Laura Mayer and Sony Music Entertainment today announced a new joint venture that will find and develop original podcast talent and programming. Davidson is the co-founder of NPR’s “Planet Money” and an award-winning contributor to “This American Life,” and Mayer is a top podcast and public radio producer formerly of Stitcher, Panoply Media, and WNYC among others.

The joint venture will create and distribute original scripted and unscripted programming across multiple podcast genres and subject matters. Based in Brooklyn, NY, Davidson and Mayer will lead the yet-to-be-named company and focus on cultivating dynamic talent and unique storytelling using Sony Music’s expertise in content creation and supporting new technologies for monetization.

Commenting on the deal, Davidson and Mayer stated, “It is a thrilling time to be in podcasting with major media and tech companies paying increasing attention to the industry as it quickly grows. Sony Music so impressed us with their focus on supporting artists and the creative process. They understand what it takes to attract the best people and create the conditions where they can do their best work.”

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

There are more than half a million active podcast shows now in existence and, according to Edison Research, the number of Americans spending time listening to podcasts more than doubled over the last four years. With this increased activity, the need for services and solutions that can nurture and advance creativity, develop brands and maximize connections between content creators and audiences continues to grow.

The joint venture brings to the podcast community Davidson’s and Mayer’s expertise in identifying and developing premium content alongside Sony Music’s best-in-class capabilities in marketing, sales and distribution, business development, audio production, and data and analytics.

A leading broadcaster and podcasting voice, Davidson co-founded and co-hosted NPR’s “Planet Money,” after serving as the international business and economics correspondent for NPR. He also has been a frequent contributor to “This American Life” where his co-reporting on the episode “The Giant Pool of Money,” received the Peabody, DuPont-Columbia, and Polk Awards and was named one of the top works of journalism of the decade by New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. In addition, he served as a technical consultant to co-writer and director Adam McKay on the Academy Award-winning film “The Big Short.” Davidson and McKay also previously served as co-hosts of the Gimlet Media podcast “Surprisingly Awesome.” Davidson is a Contributing Writer for The New Yorker. Before that he was an economics writer for The New York Times Magazine.

Mayer started her career in radio as a producer across multiple shows at WNYC New York Public Radio including the “Fishko Files” and “On the Media,” an hour long program covering journalism and technology. She then joined podcast network Panoply Media where she served as the Managing Producer for all podcast production and launched dozens of shows and led the production of the first season of the podcast “Revisionist History.” Most recently, she was the Executive Producer for Show Development at Stitcher where she was responsible for the development, production and launch of new podcasts for the company’s comedy-focused Earwolf network and Stitcher label.

About Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a current roster that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company boasts a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. It is home to premier record labels representing music from every genre, including Arista Records, Arista Nashville, Beach Street Records, Black Butter Records, BPG Music, Bystorm Entertainment, Century Media, Columbia Nashville, Columbia Records, Day 1, Descendant Records, Disruptor Records, District 18 Entertainment, Epic Records, Essential Records, Essential Worship, Fo Yo Soul Recordings, House of Iona Records, Insanity Records, Keep Cool, Legacy Recordings, Masterworks, Masterworks Broadway, Ministry of Sound Recordings, Monument Records, OKeh, Palm Tree Records, Polo Grounds Music, Portrait, RCA Inspiration, RCA Nashville, RCA Records Relentless Records, Reunion Records, Same Plate Entertainment, Six Course Music Group, Sony Classical, Sony Music Latin, Star Time International, Syco Music, Verity Records and Visionary Records. Sony Music Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.