Spotify launches premium podcast subscriptions to all US creators

Credit: Spotify

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.