Spotify launches paid podcast subscription platform in the US

Spotify, a Swedish streaming music service provider, launched a paid subscription platform for podcasts in the United States today and plans to expand to other regions in the coming months.

A week ago, Apple just launched a similar service. Spotify said in a statement that podcasters can mark episodes as “subscription only” and publish them on Spotify and other podcast listening platforms.

As the world’s most popular paid music streaming service provider, Spotify stated that it will not withdraw commissions from the subscription revenue of podcast creators in the next two years, and plans to charge a 5% fee starting in 2023. Online stores like the Apple App Store usually charge developers for purchases made on their platform.

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Two years ago, Spotify filed a complaint with the European Union against Apple, saying that Apple charges fees through its app store, making it very difficult for competitors to compete for music subscription users. This is an antitrust behavior.

In 2015, Apple launched the streaming music service Apple Music to compete with Spotify. Earlier this month, Apple launched a subscription platform that costs $19.99 a month to provide creators with the tools needed to subscribe to podcasts.

To use this service, you need to register for Apple Podcast Connect, but the tool is currently unavailable, and there are many bugs and technical problems. Many podcast creators said that their programs using Apple’s API interface disappeared in Apple Podcasts and third-party clients. Podnews It is recommended not to log in for now.

Spotify has selected 12 independent podcast companies to publish subscriber-only content in their existing podcast feeds. In addition, Spotify will expand the program to more creators in the coming months.

From May 4th, National Public Radio (NPR) will release five ad-free programs to paying subscribers, including “How I Built This with Guy Raz” (How I Built This with Guy Raz ) And “Planet Money”.

In fact, Spotify wants to occupy the podcast market. This ambition has been evident in a series of high-profile acquisitions and transactions in the past two years, including Ringe, Gimlet, Joe Rogan, and the recent Megaphone transaction.

Lydia Polgreen, the content director of Spotify’s podcast content production company Gimlet, said not long ago: “Our goal is to let people develop the habit of listening to content on Spotify, not just music.”

According to Podcasting, on April 20, Apple Podcasts announced that it will support podcast creators to provide monthly subscription services within the app. Creators can use the service for a fee of $19.99.

In the first year, Apple will charge a 30% share fee, and in the second year, the ratio will be reduced to 15%. Prior to this, as the platform with the most users of podcasts for a long time, Apple Podcasts has never tried to use this point to monetize.

(Via)