LOS ANGELES, July 28 — The pair are to make a "truly engaging narrative podcast” for Spotify. "Was this a mistake?” they joke.

Mark and Jay Duplass of HBO comedy Togetherness, genre-spanning anthology Room 104, and Amazon’s Transparent have tied up with streaming service Spotify, as the audio giant increases its investment in podcasting projects.

The Duplass Brothers scooped an Emmy as part of the production team on religious cult documentary Wild Wild Country and have combined interests in acting with writing, directing, editing, and multiple other roles in television and film.

Now they are turning their hands to audio.

"We are incredibly excited to partner with Spotify for our first foray into podcasting,” they said.

"Also terrified because making a truly engaging narrative podcast seems really, really difficult. Was this a mistake? Maybe we should pull out of this deal before they announce?”

Spotify announced its podcast intentions in no uncertain terms in February 2019, when it acquired the company behind recording, editing, publishing and monetisation service Anchor.

The same month it snapped up Gimlet Media, already known for creating audio shows well positioned for adaptation into films or TV series, with StartUp and Homecoming making the jump, and The Horror of Dolores Roach and an episode of Reply All queued up for similar treatment.

Spotify has already inked deals with rapper and broadcaster Joe Budden, sports commentator and interviewer Joe Rogan, ex-US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian West and Addison Rae. — AFP-Relaxnews