It seems there’s a podcast for everything. As of February 2018, there were some 660,000 podcasts operating, according to Podcast Insights. But how many of them are profitable? Many industry observers think podcasts have the potential to make a lot of money — and there are some surprising players who have entered the game. And they are looking to turn a profit.

Execs from Hollywood and Silicon Valley “are once again lining up to give it a try. Shortly after PodCon, Spotify Technology SA, owner of the world’s most popular paid music streaming service, made the largest deal yet in the space. In a filing it said it had paid $340 million for podcast company Gimlet Media Inc. and Anchor FM Inc., an app and web tool that helps podcasters record and distribute their work,” Bloomberg reported.

For Spotify this move is multifold. It also lets it becomes less reliant on music.

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According to reports, Spotify expects to spend as much as $500 million on podcast deals this year.

“Audio is only one-tenth of the size of the video market,” Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek said on a February earnings call. “There is a massive opportunity here for audio to evolve into a more personalized, more immersive experience, much like how the video industry has evolved.”

Everyone is taking podcast more seriously. Podcasters are investing in professional studios and marketing. “There’s a much more savvy sensibility among creators,” says Gina Delvac, who produces ‘Call Your Girlfriend,’ in which two friends talk about pop culture and politics. “You have to have that professional gloss to get any amount of attention.”

There’s a major audience out there.

“About 73 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly, up from 42 million in 2014, according to Edison Research. Industry revenue, though minuscule compared with that of radio, TV, movies, or books, almost doubled from 2016 to 2017, to $313 million. (For context, that’s about how much revenue BuzzFeed Inc. alone generated in 2018.) That figure is expected to double again by 2020, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC. Several top podcasts make more than $1 million a year,” Bloomberg reported.