Comments on Podcasts Gives Creators and Listeners More Ways To Engage
*Update as of October 23, 2024: We’ve been investing in new settings and features to improve the comments experience on Spotify, and give creators even more flexibility and control over their show. We will now automatically publish all new comments made in English, as long as they meet our platform rules. Get the latest at Spotify for Podcasters.
For podcast creators who want to grow their audiences, building a stronger relationship with their listeners and fans goes a long way. And in order to amplify their presence, creators need tools that give them the functionality, insights, and flexibility to manage their shows and engage fans anytime, anywhere.
That’s why, starting today, we’re beginning to roll out a brand-new way for podcast creators to interact with their fans—with Comments—and introducing an easier way for all podcasters to manage their shows: with the all-new Spotify for Podcasters mobile app.
Our new Comments feature expands on the Q&A and polls functionality we introduced in 2021 as a way to bring interactivity into the podcasting industry for the first time. And interactivity is a feature that already has listeners and creators buzzing: More than 9 million unique Spotify listeners have interacted with a Q&A or poll just this year, and there’s been 80% year-over-year growth in the number of total Q&A responses and votes from listeners.
“As a podcast focused on the lessons we can learn from history’s greatest leaders, I’m always curious about which takeaways resonate most with my audience,” said Ben Wilson, creator of How to Take Over the World. “Comments on Spotify provide me that invaluable feedback, which makes creating my podcast that much more rewarding and allows me to build a stronger connection with my listeners.”
With the introduction of Comments, we’re also excited to give all creators—regardless of where their episodes are hosted—better ways to manage their entire show, including listener feedback. Podcast creators can now use Spotify for Podcasters on desktop or with our all-new mobile app to interact with listeners, manage their presence on Spotify, check their latest stats, and track growth in real time. And fans can directly comment on the podcast episodes they’re already listening to on Spotify.
To learn more about these new features and the ways they’ll strengthen the relationship between podcasters and listeners, For the Record spoke with Maya Prohovnik, VP of Podcast Product at Spotify.
What’s new with the Spotify for Podcasters mobile app?
We’ve kept our promise to manage and update your show on the go, but we rebuilt the Spotify for Podcasters mobile app to work for all podcasters, regardless of where their show is hosted.
We’ve also added helpful new notifications so you’ll know right away if you make it onto a Spotify chart, if you get feedback from your listeners, or when your show hits an exciting new milestone. And we added the ability for podcasters to manage Comments on their episodes—a brand-new feature which has just launched on Spotify!
Why are Comments such an important addition to podcasts on Spotify?
Comments have been a long-requested feature from both podcasters and Spotify listeners, and we were excited to provide it since we’re very invested in making Spotify the best platform for all types of creators to connect with their biggest fans.
Podcasts have historically been a one-sided format and, while we’ve offered other interactivity features like Polls and Q&A for some time, people have told us they want more ways to connect directly. Now, for the first time, listeners can actually have a two-way conversation with their favorite podcast hosts on Spotify, podcasters can get near-immediate feedback from their audiences, and real communities can form around shows. I think that’s incredibly powerful.
How will our new app offer a better podcast experience for both creators and users?
I’m a podcaster, so I feel like I can say this with some authority: Every podcast creator, regardless of their size or ambition, wants to grow their audience and deepen those relationships. Interactivity features are a meaningful way for them to do both. We’ve found that listeners who interact with a show are four times more likely to return to that show within 30 days. They also listen to twice as many hours per month on average than those who don’t. So there is really something special—and something tangible—in enabling this connection.
The biggest value for fans is that they can now talk to their favorite podcasters on a whole new level, right where they’re already listening to (or watching!) their favorite show. And we’ve managed to do this in a way that still leaves a ton of control in the creators’ hands, since we know how important it is to have a say over what can show up alongside your content. I’m really proud of the balance we’ve struck here and excited for everyone to start trying it out!
For more details on our new app, be sure to visit Spotify for Podcasters.
