After a test phase started in the spring, Spotify is rolling out its subscription function for podcasts on the entire American market.
As the world's largest audio streaming service with currently 165 million paying users announced on Tuesday, all podcasters from the United States can now offer their listeners separate paid content via the Anchor sales platform, which was taken over at the beginning of 2019.
Podcasters have up to 20 pricing options, from $ 0.49 a month to $ 150 a month.
In addition, they were given the opportunity to view a “list of contact addresses” of their subscribers in order to be able to make further offers, the company announced.
Benjamin Fischer
Editor in business.
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According to the announcement, international users will have access to the paid content from September 15. The function itself should also be rolled out to other markets via Anchor "very soon". Spotify once again stated that they only want to withhold part of the income from 2023 - apart from transaction fees. After that, 5 percent should remain with Spotify. This procedure is also to be understood as a reaction to the competitor Apple. The tech group recently launched a payment model for podcasters, albeit directly in more than 170 markets. Within this framework, 30 percent and after one year 15 percent of the podcasters' subscription income goes to Apple.
According to its own information, there are currently more than 2.9 million podcasts and more than 70 million songs available on Spotify. The focus on podcasts, which has been increasing for some time, is also due to the fact that the music catalog on the streaming services is largely the same and that they also distribute around two thirds of their income to the rights holders of the music. Spotify has licensing agreements with labels, publishers and distributors who distribute money to musicians according to individual contracts. Due to this licensing structure, a function like that for podcasters is not possible for musicians, a Spotify spokesman told the FAZ