In a podcasting landscape dominated by global platforms chasing scale and ad impressions, Copenhagen-based Podimo is carving out a very different path.
Podcasting has grown tremendously over the last decade, and across Europe, between 35 per cent and up to 45 per cent of the adult population listens to podcasts regularly.
Podimo is an audio entertainment service founded in 2019 that offers original and exclusive ad-free shows, plus podcasts from around the world via RSS feeds.
The app features smart curation, an intuitive design, and video, creating a new stream of revenue for all creators.
The service emphasises local-language content and diverse voices, offering a personalised listening experience across Europe and Latin America.
Podimo has grown rapidly, becoming one of Europe's fastest-growing podcast and audiobook subscription services with over 1 million subscribers. It's live in seven markets, with over 350 employees spread across most of Europe.
I spoke to CEO Morten Strunge to find out more.
Prioritise local insight and strategic acquisitions
Founded in 2019, the company attributes its early reaching of the million mark to its in-depth understanding of local markets and strategic acquisitions such as Dag en Nacht Media, a Danish podcast agency and advertising platform, Podads and Dutch podcast production house Tonny Media. Podimo is already profitable in three of its markets and plans to be in the black in all markets by the end of 2025.
While the main business and chunk of its revenue comes from the subscription business, according to Strunge, the acquisitions mean that “Podimo is not just a paywall, it's also having a lot of content live outside the paywall — freely available on platforms, monetised through advertising.
And then we have windowing and hybrid content versions towards subscription as well.”
Have boots on the ground locally
Podimo stands out from its competitors for its hyperlocal approach. Users can curate and provide content that is perfectly tailored to the specific preferences and tastes of listeners in each region.
Further, the company has “boots on the ground” in each market. Strunge asserts:
“We don't just meet the creator with a login where you can upload an audio file. We actually meet the creator in person and help them co-create the content. We have studios. We create the content, we promote it, and we monetise it.
So we're more like a 360 service.”
Strunge asserts that Podimo’s model of trying to get as much money into the ecosystem as possible through both advertising and subscriptions benefits podcasting as a whole.
“A lot of the players that distribute podcast content — they do it for engagement, not monetisation. So their business case is to increase engagement that then helps them on their retention, but it doesn't give more revenue to creators.
Whereas for Podimo, we are the ones actually putting money into the ecosystem and growing the pie that benefits the whole creator community.”
Support content creators through collaboration and partnerships
But besides offering local shows and local languages, I wanted to understand how Podimo generates revenue while also supporting the creators financially.
Strunge suggests it starts with the flywheel of great content:
“If we get great content, then there's a willingness to pay. An average Podimo subscriber spends around 20 hours listening to content on our service each month. And that equals some willingness to pay.
We have content people on our team focused on content makers. If you have great content and you can help the creators make content, then you can grow that content off-platform and create more reach for it.
And then we can help the creators monetise it through advertising — which we have agreements on — or help them monetise through a combination of both subscriptions and ads.”
Podimo has partnerships with Disney, iHeartMedia, and Paramount Network, and also funds independent investigative journalism. An example is Forgotten: Women of Juárez, a collaboration between Podimo and iHeartMedia. This investigative series explores the femicides in Juárez, Mexico, shedding light on a decades-long crisis of violence against women.
The podcast was translated and adapted into Spanish, German, and Danish, making it accessible to a broader audience. Its impactful storytelling and thorough investigation earned it the "Best Latin American Podcast of the Year" award at the Estación Podcast Festival.
Further, Strunge contends that as Podimo has the luxury of only having podcasts,
“We focus solely on that from a vertical perspective, which allows us to build a different way of discovering content.”
Emojis, polls, user engagement shape the future of listener interaction
Podimo has spent the last year investing in community, bringing listeners and creators closer to each other, allowing them to engage more than just through the podcast.
According to Strunge:
“We're really trying to bring a social and community aspect into podcasting. The building blocks are there because podcasting is a very intimate medium.
It’s not someone narrating a book — you're in the room with the creator, part of the content experience. And building on top of that toward social and community features, we see a huge opportunity in bringing creators and listeners closer.”
Listeners can share emojis while streaming. Podimo also enables creators to engage their audience through in-app polls. These polls allow listeners to provide feedback, express preferences, or participate in decisions related to podcast content.
Make a stance on questionable content
Podimo stands out for its stance on content curation. In March 2025, Spotify faced significant backlash for hosting content by Andrew Tate, an influencer known for misogynistic views and facing serious criminal charges, including rape and human trafficking in Romania and the UK. The controversy centered around a podcast episode titled "Pimping Hoes Degree."
The episode was removed following internal complaints from Spotify employees and a public petition that garnered over 92,000 signatures. Yet despite this removal, other problematic episodes from Tate's series remained on the platform, continuing to draw criticism for promoting harmful stereotypes and manipulative behaviors toward women.
Strunge asserts that the company has been clear from the beginning that it wouldn't "play the platform card."
"We take ownership of each piece of content ourselves. In Denmark, for example, we have the Prime Minister on some of our shows. That’s a voice in society. And that comes with a responsibility—whether it's content we produce or curate.
You have to be very careful about maintaining the right balance. It’s a lot of responsibility. We're not just a podcast platform—we’re becoming a medium. And that should come with responsibility."
Invest in AI
Podimo has also reaped the benefits of advancements in AI, especially when it comes to content editing — snippet creation, video snippets.
“There are many tools that speed up time to market,” explains Strunge.
“But the biggest benefit is AI for discovery: matching the right content with the right user, at the right time, and even in the right format. Not just banners, but personalised audio recommendations in a show, or video snippets of parts of an episode that have a high likelihood to interest a particular listener.
That’s where we've seen the biggest upside—tailoring discovery to individuals and bringing content to users in new ways.”
Podimo is also investing in format development—transferring formats between markets in local languages and also exploring AI-generated content.
Strunge admits that its utility is nuanced as humour doesn't travel well across markets, and even history is perceived differently depending on the country and how it has impacted them.
The company is also exploring format adaptation—taking a successful format and localising it in other markets, like TV, where the same concept is adapted with different local hosts.
“That’s increasing in podcasting, and we have a global team in London that circulates and manages this across markets.”
Help podcasters find their audience
Strunge contends it's about finding an audience." That’s the golden ticket.
Podimo can cross-promote new content into existing shows. Pocasters can be invited as a guest on other shows.
"And since we own the app, we can also support it through in-app visibility. Our editors help co-develop content, and our monetisation model is efficient.
In markets where Podimo operates, we’ve surpassed advertising revenue with subscriptions. Like in the Netherlands, when we launched two and a half years ago, it was 100 per cent ad-driven. Now, subscriptions bring in more than ads, even though ads have also grown."
The company's future includes increased investments in local talent, more narrative formats, a closer link with product functions, and expansion into new markets. Strunge also sees video playing a bigger role in the future.
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