BBC Studios Moves Into Podcasting With The Clash Doc For Spotify

EXCLUSIVE: BBC Studios is making its first major move into podcasting with a Chuck D-fronted series about legendary punk band The Clash for Spotify.

The production arm of the British public broadcaster is making Stay Free: The Story of The Clash, an eight-part series for the music service.

The Public Enemy frontman will narrate the series, which launches on February 28. It will take a deep dive into the rise, the reign and the self-destruction of the London punk rockers. Each episode will be between 30 and 45 minutes.

Chuck D said, “It’s an honor heading up this new podcast Stay Free: The Story of The Clash. I was and am a big fan of their music. We were always tackling very similar social and political issues.”

It marks an interesting move for BBC Studios. The multi-genre production studio makes a range of music content including Later With… Jools Holland and feature doc David Bowie: Finding Fame as well as short-form formats such as Big Narstie’s Let’s Settle This, but this project is its first step into the booming world of audio.

Georgia Moseley, Creative Director, BBC Studios Digital and Executive Producer for Stay Free: The Story of The Clash said, “Delivering our first Spotify commission has been an amazing creative experience – using rare archive material and interviews it brings the story of The Clash to life for a whole new generation.”

The Daniel Ek-run platform has been aggressively moving into podcasting and recently closed a multi-million dollar deal to buy Homecoming and Crimetown producer Gimlet Media and start-up Anchor.

In a recent blog post titled “Audio First,” Spotify Founder and CEO Ek wrote, “With the world focused on trying to reduce screen time, it opens up a massive audio opportunity…There are endless ways to tell stories that serve to entertain, to educate, to challenge, to inspire or to bring us together and break down cultural barriers. The format is really evolving and while podcasting is still a relatively small business today, I see incredible growth potential for the space and for Spotify in particular.”