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- Andreessen Horowitz is searching for a leader to head its growing podcast efforts.The firm has a history of using content marketing to influence the media narrative.It's looking to grow a network of independent podcasts.
Andreessen Horowitz is on the hunt for a podcast leader, the latest step in the famous VC firm's longtime strategy to sidestep the mainstream press and create its own content.
In a LinkedIn post, the firm, also called A16z, says it's looking for a podcast network lead to "drive the strategy, operations, and growth of a network of externally created but strategically aligned podcasts."
The job involves recruiting independent hosts to Andreessen Horowitz's podcast platform, as well as helping them grow and monetize their audiences. The firm anticipates paying up to $424,000 in yearly salary.
The firm didn't respond to requests for comment.
Andreessen Horowitz was an early mover among VC firms in content marketing and has long had big ambitions when it comes to media. Its moves in this area tend to be closely watched in media and tech circles.
The firm is best known for its flagship show, "The A16z Podcast." The show started in 2014 and taps engineers, founders, experts, and the firm's general partners to talk about where tech is headed. Newer shows include the year-old "The Ben and Marc Show" hosted by cofounders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and a science-focused show, "Raising Health."
In April, Andreessen Horowitz brought on Erik Torenberg as a general partner to help lead the firm's media and network initiatives. Torenberg is an established Silicon Valley figure who created Turpentine, a tech podcast network.
The firm has also invested in media, including in Substack, a newsletter platform that's expanding into new areas like video, and Clubhouse, an audio-focused social network.
Andreessen Horowitz's record in media has been mixed.
In 2021, it started Future, a buzzed-about publication that put a hopeful lens on tech and society. The firm quietly shut down the publication after a year and a half.
But it's stayed the course with podcasting. Under Sonal Chokshi, a former Wired editor who was brought on in 2014 to shepherd its media strategy, the firm expanded to new shows. It also announced a bigger emphasis on its flagship podcast.
Over the years, the firm has expressed interest in investing in podcasting, citing the medium's rapid adoption and its ability to go beyond passive listening and become social in nature.
Chokshi wrote about Andreessen Horowitz's podcast ambitions in a 2020 blog post, calling podcasts an intimate medium that was better at conveying nuance than text.
"Just as great podcasts can come from non-media companies, so, too, will the next podcast networks," she wrote.
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'The next stage of content is video'
Other VCs like Kleiner Perkins and IVP have hired established journalists and commissioned long-form articles and even films. In this way, firms can set themselves apart, ensure their portfolio companies get press, and counter what they see as negative coverage of the tech industry by traditional news outlets.
Ted Merz, who does content strategy for executives at Principals Media, said podcasting and video would allow the firm to better promote its portfolio companies, attract talent, and build visibility.
"The next stage of content is video," Merz said.
People are consuming more podcasts on YouTube, driving new attention to the medium as well as other personality-driven vehicles like Substack newsletters. Hosts in finance and tech have capitalized, with shows like "TBPN," which has recently hosted VCs like Keith Rabois and Alexis Ohanian. Harry Stebbings, host of "The Twenty Minute VC," parlayed his podcast profile into a $400 million fundraise.
Edison Research said in October that YouTube had become the top podcast consumption platform. The platform itself said in February that more than 1 billion people listened to podcasts on the platform every month and that in 2024, viewers watched over 400 million hours of podcasts monthly on TVs.
Companies are also trying to win the AI game as people increasingly use the tech for search. A new study by Muck Rack found that about 9% of the links cited by AI represent a brand's own content channels, and another 37% are links to content that features a company or brand.
Longform writing still has its place, but podcasts are well suited to VC's media strategy, said Chantelle Darby, a longtime tech PR professional.
"Audio and video interviews, in particular, make it easier to extract and package expertise from busy venture partners and founders," she said.
