Spotify lowers monetization thresholds for video podcasts

Spotify is lowering the eligibility criteria for podcasters to monetize their video content on its platform. The company is significantly reducing the requirements across episode counts, consumption hours, and audience size. Under the updated rules, creators must meet the following thresholds over a 30-day measurement period:

• A minimum episode requirement of 3, down from the previous requirement of 12 episodes.
• A minimum of 2,000 consumption hours, down from the previous requirement of 10,000 hours.
• An engaged audience member threshold of 1,000, down from the previous requirement of 2,000.

The partner program pays podcasters according to the number of premium users who watch their videos on Spotify, alongside a share of ad revenue earned from users on the free tier.

The company is also introducing new sponsorship tools that would allow creators to update, schedule, and measure sponsorship spots read by hosts in video ads. These tools are scheduled to become available in April within the Spotify for Creators app and Megaphone, the company’s podcast hosting and monetization suite.

To further expand its video distribution, Spotify is launching a new Application Programming Interface (API) that would let creators use their existing platforms to publish and monetize video podcasts on Spotify. At launch, third-party API partners including Acast, Audioboom, Libsyn, Omny, and Podigee have adopted this API to allow creators to publish and monetize their video podcasts.

These updates come amid rising video engagement on the platform. The company stated that since the launch of the partner program, the consumption of video podcasts on the app has nearly doubled. Additionally, the company attributed a trend showing that the average Spotify podcast user streams twice as many video shows per month as they did before the program was launched.

To support this expansion, Spotify is opening a new studio for recording podcasts and videos in West Hollywood. The company said the studio will serve as a base for The Ringer, a podcast network, and will also be open to select creators from the partner program. This new facility adds to Spotify’s existing studio presence across LA, New York, Stockholm, and London.

Why it matters

Spotify is lowering monetization thresholds and introducing new tools and APIs to compete with YouTube and drive streaming subscription revenue.