Apple’s close rival in the streaming business, Spotify has announced new monetization options for Podcasters. Spotify’s Podcasts Subscription Service for creators comes within a week after Apple announced its own Podcasts Subscriptions service at its ‘Spring loaded’ event. It is currently available in the US and will rollout globally coming months.
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Spotify’s Podcasts Subscription Service is not directly available through Spotify. It is powered by its creator platform, Anchor which would allow select partners who host their shows there to charge for content (subscriber-only) and publish them to be available on Spotify and other Podcasts streaming platforms. Paid episodes will have a lock icon on the Play button and creators can set any of these pricing tiers: US$ 2.99, US$ 4.99 or US$ 7.99, for their listeners to choose from.
Podcasters have access to the tools for free for the next two years (2023), however, they will cover transaction fees and Spotify will begin to charge 5% access fee from revenue after then. This is way less than the 30% in the first year and 15% onwards which Apple will charge from revenue for its own service (similar to the App Store subscriptions). Creators will also have to join the Apple Podcasters Program for a fee of US$ 19.99 per annum.
Spotify Podcasts subscription program will kick-off with 12 independent podcasters and a waitlist has been created for more creators to join in. The company also announced its collaboration with NPR which entails the latter publishing five shows sponsor-free for paid subscribers. These NPR shows – How I Built This with Guy Raz, Short Wave, It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, Code Switch, and Planet Money – will be available from May 4 and will be designated with the Plus (+) sign to signify sponsor-free content.
Source: Spotify Newsroom | Anchor