Spotify is Launching Monetization Options for Podcasters

For content creators, social media and promotion go hand in hand. A strategy for reaching the masses beyond your website (which you should probably have) usually involves Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Clubhouse, TikTok—the list goes on. Though podcasts aren’t “social media,” studies have shown they’re just as, if not more, popular than the platforms I just mentioned.  That’s why Spotify is rolling out new monetization options for creators who want to earn money beyond their social media feeds.

Last week, a paid subscription program launched for U.S. users and will expand internationally in the coming months. It will be available through Anchor, an online tool for recording and editing podcast episodes. Participating creators will be able to designate episodes as “subscriber-only” and publish to Spotify and other platforms.

“For the next two years, this program will come at no cost to the creator, meaning that participating creators receive 100% of their subscriber revenues (excluding payment transaction fees),” reads an announcement. “Starting in 2023, we plan to introduce a competitive 5% fee for access to this tool.”

The goal of this feature is to help podcasters grow their subscription numbers and expand subscriber content within the larger podcasting pool. It’s also important to note that “content will be searchable and discoverable like any other podcast episode.” As of now, there are 12 independent podcasters participating in the pilot program with plans to add more later.

“We’re also going to begin accepting submissions from our waitlist, effectively expanding the program to more creators and the rest of the world over the coming months.”

Spotify is also testing the technology for an “Open Access Platform” (OAP) that will allow “creators with existing subscriber bases the option to deliver paid content to their existing paid audiences using Spotify, retaining direct control over the relationship.”

Finally, Spotify is expanding its previously announced Audience Network to include creators using Anchor. The “audio advertising marketplace” is where advertisers can directly connect with a variety of podcast audiences, thus creating more “efficient” spending opps within the podcasting space.

“We believe this technology will enable more creators to make meaningful revenue from their podcasts by providing much better value to advertisers than existing podcast advertising solutions that use RSS.”

Clearly, there is money to be made as a podcaster but if you’re a newbie, go over these steps before hitting record.

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