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Spotify announced they are partnering with Anchor on a paid podcasting subscription platform. Spotify podcasts will be hosted on Anchor who will act as the distributor and 12 podcasts are available immediately on this new platform.
Spotify says that “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). " They also say that in 2023 they want to charge a 5% access fee.
Anchor has a new blog detailing these changes and has a signup page for creators who want to participate. The entire setup takes place inside Anchor while it will also be searchable within Spotify.
Spotify is also collaborating with NPR on this program and five shows will be available starting May 4—How I Built This with Guy Raz, Short Wave, It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, Code Switch, and Planet Money.
Additionally, on May 1 they’re releasing the Spotify Audience Network (SPAN) “in which advertisers of all sizes will be able to connect with listeners consuming a broad range of content.”
The Verge reported on this story and noted some problems with it:
“Notably, though, Spotify won’t have a big subscribe button at the top of every podcast page, and you won’t be able to subscribe directly within the app. Those limitations could make it harder for podcasts to sign up new subscribers. (This also means Spotify won’t have to pay Apple for any subscriptions sold under its App Store terms.) Apple’s subscription podcasts, on the other hand, will let you subscribe from right within its app.”
Mike Mignano, co-founder of Anchor, and head of podcasting at Spotify tells The Verge, “It’s crucial to our model that we explore ways for creators to connect deeper with their subscribers, so you can anticipate us to be sharing more in the space soon,” he says.