Spotify seals exclusive deal for CoComelon Storytime podcast

Spotify has announced an exclusive multi-year agreement featuring some of the most beloved voices within the kids’ entertainment space. Through this initiative, Spotify will partner with CoComelon, the number-one kids channel on YouTube, for a new podcast, CoComelon Storytime.

The show will be followed by a mix of other original and exclusive ‘homegrown’ shows, including Gardenkeeper Gus, 100 Cinderellas, and Deep Blue Sea. The new content will be available to parents on the main Spotify app within the Family and Kids Hub, as well as on the Spotify Kids app, exclusive to Spotify Premium Family subscribers.

Produced by Moonbug Entertainment, CoComelon has an impressive reach and dedicated following, garnering over 4.2 billion views per month.

“We are so thrilled to be entering into this partnership with CoComelon to produce a series of original and exclusive content tailored to families,” says Max Cutler, Head of New Content Initiatives at Spotify. “This is a major win for us as we continue to expand the scope of our podcast ambitions and help to drive the exponential growth of the audio industry.

“Spotify is the only platform with the scale and infrastructure necessary to enable a partner like CoComelon to grow beyond their millions of highly loyal, passionate and engaged fans and transcend into podcasting. With their popularity and Spotify’s ability to distribute and amplify it in the audio space, the potential for the show’s reach is limitless.”

CoComelon Story Time, which is launching on January 24, includes beloved storybook classics with a CoComelon twist. The stories impart positive life lessons, providing families with playful and educational content that they can enjoy together. The new podcast series will be available globally in four languages including English (American and British vocabulary), Spanish, German and Brazilian Portuguese.

Gardenkeeper Gus, launching on January 31 and designed for families with younger children, is a quiet and contemplative preschool podcast that follows the adventures of 6-year-old Gus and his squirrel best friend Rel as they explore and understand the endless and larger-than-life garden behind his family home.

100 Cinderellas, launching on February 14 and designed for families with younger children, is an anthology series of Cinderella stories from around the world, suitable for bedtime.

Deep Blue Sea, launching on February 28, consists of episodes where listeners will visit an underwater oceanic laboratory, Sea Lab Alpha, with an impeccable view of sea life.

“We are excited to be partnering with Moonbug to bring one of their iconic brands, CoComelon, to our millions of listeners around the world,” says Verdell Walker, Head of Kids Audio Content at Spotify. “As one of today’s most popular family brands, CoComelon’s interactive storytelling is a perfect fit for audio. We’re thrilled that we can expand the world of CoComelon, with its dynamic characters that educate and entertain millions of families, into audio.”

LEGO launches wellness soundscape using the satisfying sounds of 10,000 bricks

The LEGO Group is treading (softly) new ground for toys in the mindfulness space with the launch of a new LEGO White Noise playlist, designed to help listeners find a moment of relaxation – by listening the noises made by LEGO bricks.

But there’s no soundtracks of fully-grown adults yelping as they step on LEGO bricks left across the floor, but moreover, a curated list of tracks that have each been created using nothing but LEGO and the sounds that they make.

Designers of the LEGO White Noise playlist experimented with over 10,000 bricks in their quest for the perfect soothing sounds. The result is a soundscape that includes tracks such as It All Clicks, capturing the sound of two LEGO elements joining together, and The Waterfall, created by pouring thousands of LEGO bricks on top of one another.

Like other white noise tracks, the playlist is designed to help listeners find a moment of zen in their day, making it an audio accompaniment for falling asleep, unwinding, or relaxing through LEGO building.

The playlist can be accessed for free from over 15 different music streaming platforms including Spotify, iTunes and Google Music.

The LEGO White Noise playlist has been released to accompany the immersive LEGO Botanical Collection building experience, following research that found that almost three quarters (73 per cent) of adults are on the hunt for new ways to destress.

The new LEGO Botanical Collection includes the LEGO Flower Bouquet and the LEGO Bonsai Tree that are designed to offer adults an immersive building experiences to help them express their creativity and destress as they build a beautiful model that can be proudly displayed when completed.

Both sets are available now from LEGO.com, LEGO Stores and other retailers globally.

Hasbro launches Peppa Pig audio stories across Amazon Prime, Apple Music, and Spotify

Hasbro has revealed its plans to release a series of new Peppa Pig audio stories across multiple digital streaming platforms around the world, including on Amazon Prime, Apple Music, and Spotify from today (Monday, November 23rd) onwards, with plans for more to come.

Marking a new first for Peppa Pig, the ten audio stories will be narrated by the familiar voice of John Sparkes and will be based on some of the most popular stories from the animated TV series. They will be available in English language only and will launch in batches of two every two weeks.

Titles under the portfolio of audio stories include George’s New Dinosaur, Shake, Rattle & Bang, Mr Bull’s New Road, Whistling, Nursery Rhymes, Secret Club, Pirate Treasure, Grandpa Pig’s Greenhouse, Noisy Night, and Bedtime Story.

 “We want to be wherever our fans are with great content and our move into audio-first content reflects that,” said eOne’s Esra Cafer, SVP global brand management.

“What we’re really excited about is just how good these stories are. They capture all the values, storytelling and humour of our brilliant show to give our listeners a wonderfully immersive audio story experience – we can’t wait for Peppa fans to discover them.”

 The launch will be supported by an extensive marketing campaign across social and digital media including the brand’s own high reach digital channels.

This latest deal follows the huge success of the brand’s first digital music album release, Peppa Pig: My First Album, in July 2019 which has hit more than 24 million streams worldwide and inspired a licensing range for teens in Urban Outfitters this autumn in the US.

Novel Entertainment launches new audio content for Horrid Henry across Spotify, iTunes, and Audible

Novel Entertainment is launching a new publishing line based on the original stories from its award-winning animated TV series, Horrid Henry.

First out of the gate, and aimed at the Horrid Henry audience of kids aged seven to 11, new content will take the form of audio dramatisations from Novel Entertainment’s hit Horrid Henry TV series, featuring the show’s voice talent with additional narrative from Henry (voiced by Elizabeth Waterworth-Santo) and songs.

The content will be available worldwide as downloads on major platforms such as Audible, Spotify, and iTunes and Amazon. The initial release will see 10 titles launch including Horrid Henry’s Fun Run, Horrid Henry Takes the Biscuit, and Horrid Henry and the Lost Dog.

“We’re delighted to be bringing these original Horrid Henry stories to life in exciting new publishing formats,” said Lucinda Whiteley, creative director and co-founder of Novel Entertainment.

“With research showing audiobooks can positively impact reading skills and children’s mental wellbeing, we’re looking forward to giving fans the chance to enjoy the hilarious storylines they know and love from the TV series, whether on car journeys, with friends or at bedtime.”

 These new publishing products are the latest incarnations of Novel’s four-time BAFTA-nominated Horrid Henry, which is one of the biggest children’s animated shows ever in the UK. The fifth season is currently on air in the UK and the brand has expanded to include film, stage, radio and online extensions, as well as being at the heart of a successful licensing and merchandising programme.

A total of 250 episodes are now available with recent sales including MBC (Middle East), Alati International (Russia), and Atlantic Digital Networks (Canada). Renewals include Turner Broadcasting System (Asia Pacific), Mediacorp (Singapore), POP TV (Slovenia), E-Vision (Middle East), Asiana (Korea) and Netflix (France, US, Canada, Russia, Australia and New Zealand).

Other leading broadcasters on board include ABC Australia, RTE Eire, Mediacorp Singapore, Gulli France, NRK Norway, Hulu US, SVT Sweden, YLE Finland, RTP Portugal, TVP1 in Poland, and Al Jazeerah Middle East.