Spotify Competes With Apple by Expanding Podcast Subscriptions Program
In late April, Spotify began testing a Podcast Subscriptions program as a way for creators to offer paid subscriber-only content to listeners, and today the streaming music service announced this monetization option is now available to all U.S. creators. Spotify said creators can mark episodes as subscriber-only and publish them to Spotify and other platforms through its podcast creation platform Anchor.

Spotify also announced that it plans to expand the Podcast Subscriptions program internationally starting September 15 of this year.
Spotify said its model is built to maximize revenue for creators, who will receive 100% of subscription revenue minus payment processing fees until 2023, when the company plans to implement a 5% fee on subscription revenue.
Two changes are being made to the program to benefit creators: additional pricing tiers for subscription fees and the option to download a list of email addresses for subscribers so creators can further engage with their audiences.
Apple rolled out its own Podcasts Subscriptions feature worldwide in June, with the company receiving 30% of a subscriber's revenue in the first year and 15% if they remain subscribed for longer than one year. Creators are also required to enroll in the Apple Podcasters Program for $19.99 per year in order to offer subscriptions.
Benefits of Apple Podcasts Subscriptions for creators include the ability to offer subscriptions for individual shows or for groups of shows through a "channels" feature, the choice to offer fully paid subscriptions or freemium subscriptions with a mix of free and paid episodes, and availability in over 170 countries and regions today. Apple Podcasts Subscriptions also has options for soliciting subscriber email addresses.
Popular Stories
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models will feature a number of significant display, thermal, and battery improvements, according to new late-stage rumors.
According to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital," the iPhone 17 Pro models will feature displays with higher brightness, making it more suitable for use in direct sunlight for prolonged periods. The iPhone 16 Pro and...
Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 17 series in just four days from now, and the biggest design mystery surrounding the Pro models has finally been solved.
In a report outlining his expectations for Apple's event next week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the iPhone 17 Pro models will have "a new cutout area on the bottom two-thirds of the phone that doubles as the wireless charging area."...
We're only days away from Apple's "Awe dropping" fall event scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 9 – and along with the new iPhone 17 series, we're going to get a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra for the first time since 2023.
By the time the Ultra 3 is unveiled, it will have been two years since the previous model arrived. The intervening period has left plenty of room for...
iOS 26 introduces an Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode.
Apple says Adaptive Power Mode can make "performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness, allowing some activities to "take longer," and automatically turning on Low Power Mode when the iPhone's remaining battery life...
Four days out from Apple's "Awe dropping" fall event on Tuesday, September 9, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has summarized his expectations for what the company will reveal next week.
Aside from a couple of new details and the inclusion of some more recent leaks from other sources, much of the following is a recap of Gurman's reports over the last several months:
iPhone 17
Large...
Just one week before Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series, an analyst has shared new price estimates for the devices.
Here are J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee's price estimates for the iPhone 17 series in the United States, according to 9to5Mac:
Model
Starting Price
Model
Starting Price
Change
iPhone 16
$799
iPhone 17
...