Spotify launches premium podcast subscriptions to all US creators

Spotify is now rolling out its premium podcast feature to all creators based in the U.S., allowing them to charge up to $150 for a subscription.

The music streaming service began testing a podcast subscription feature in April, shortly after Apple announced a opened up its subscription service to all U.S. podcasters.

Alongside the announcement, Spotify says that it will begin expanding the service to international markets starting on Sept. 15.

In an effort to lure content creators to the platform, Spotify is letting podcasters keep 100% of subscription revenue — minus processing fees — until 2023. At that point, the streamer company will take a 5% commission on revenue.

Spotify also said it is making a couple of changes to the program introduced in April. For one, there are now additional pricing tiers for podcast subscriptions. Creators can also download as list of their subscribers' contact addresses so they can communicate with them directly.

Apple debuted its own premium podcasting feature in June, just a couple of months after its announcement in April. It works similarly to the Spotify feature, allowing podcasters to create exclusive content for subscribers and earn additional revenue.

In contrast, however, Apple charges a standard 30% fee on podcast revenue for the first year of a listener's subscription. That drops to 15% in the second year. Podcasters must also pay for a $19.99 a year Apple Podcasters Program.

2 Comments

cgWerks 8 Years · 2947 comments

About 3 years ago

AppleInsider said:
... In an effort to lure content creators to the platform, Spotify is letting podcasters keep 100% of subscription revenue -- minus processing fees -- ...

Note, if you're luring to YOUR platform and charging a subscription, etc. it isn't a podcast any longer. It's a Spotify Show. Same with Apple. The 'podcasts' behind their paywall are Apple Audio Shows, not podcasts.

This might sound like semantics to some, but it is really important to maintain this distinction for the future of podcasting. None of these 'podcasts' will be available in your favorite podcast app (unless that app is that particular platform's), and they won't have the coming Podcasting 2.0 features unless those particular platform/players ALSO add them. They won't have 'value block' aspect of their RSS feeds (because they don't have RSS feeds) which allows direct listener to producer financial and communication transactions. And, maybe most importantly, they won't be cancel-culture immune (or privacy protecting).

If you love podcasting, run, don't walk, away from this crap!

JBSlough 8 Years · 92 comments

About 3 years ago

cgWerks said:

AppleInsider said:
... In an effort to lure content creators to the platform, Spotify is letting podcasters keep 100% of subscription revenue -- minus processing fees -- ...

Note, if you're luring to YOUR platform and charging a subscription, etc. it isn't a podcast any longer. It's a Spotify Show. Same with Apple. The 'podcasts' behind their paywall are Apple Audio Shows, not podcasts.

This might sound like semantics to some, but it is really important to maintain this distinction for the future of podcasting. None of these 'podcasts' will be available in your favorite podcast app (unless that app is that particular platform's), and they won't have the coming Podcasting 2.0 features unless those particular platform/players ALSO add them. They won't have 'value block' aspect of their RSS feeds (because they don't have RSS feeds) which allows direct listener to producer financial and communication transactions. And, maybe most importantly, they won't be cancel-culture immune (or privacy protecting).

If you love podcasting, run, don't walk, away from this crap!

Totally agree. When Sirrius XM got the bandwagon I was disappointed. They’re not podcasts if they’re exclusive to your platform. They’re shows. It’s like saying Netflix original shows are video podcasts.