Tag: conference

VidCon 2025: Top Creators Join Spotify to Discuss the Impact of Video Podcasts

Last week, content creators from all over the world flocked to Anaheim for VidCon 2025, one of the largest creator conferences in the U.S. As an official sponsor, Spotify was part of the three-day experience, educating and entertaining attendees with a panel session, live podcast episodes, and more. 

Top creators reveal how video podcasts help them grow

We kicked things off at VidCon with our panel discussion Press Play: Turning Views into Fandoms on Spotify. Moderated by Publish Press writer Hannah Doyle, and featuring Spotify Head of Podcast Product Maya Prohovnik, Sad Boyz host Jarvis Johnson, and The Unplanned Podcast’s Matt & Abby, the conversation offered an inside look at the positive impact of video podcasts on the platform, from audience growth to revenue streams. 

“It’s undeniable the appetite consumers have for video,” Maya said during the discussion. “Video has roughly doubled the size of the podcast industry, and I think that’s really exciting for creators because it means you can reach way more people.” 

Jarvis added that the appeal of video podcasts on Spotify is that they offer more ways to reach new viewers. 

“Spotify bringing video to podcasts democratizes [the user experience across formats] by adding more ways for people to get [creator content] on the platform of their choosing,” he said. “It’s another reason for us to jump at the opportunity.” 

Meanwhile, Abby offered her insights on video podcasting—not just as a creator, but how she connects with her favorite shows as a fan.

“[When I’m watching video podcasts] as a consumer, I’m like ‘Oh my gosh!’” she said. “I’ve laughed, and I’ve seen [hosts] cry. It’s a great aspect of video.”

Spotify presents the Podcast Theater at VidCon 2025

In addition to the panel session, we invited a number of creators to our Podcast Theater so they could record live episodes of their shows. VidCon attendees were able to sit in on recording sessions for Dropouts, No Filter With Zack Peter, The Unplanned Podcast with Matt & Abby, Much To Discuss…!, Created with Jon Youshaei, and more!

With another successful VidCon in the books, Spotify remains committed to building a sustainable ecosystem where creators can thrive. Whether it’s helping creators grow their audiences with new resources and programs, or giving fans ways to connect with their favorite shows on a deeper level with new features, we’re excited for the future of video podcasts on Spotify.

Learn more about video podcasts at Spotify for Creators.

Spotify Hosts Summits in Germany To Bring Creators and Industry Professionals Together

a group of participants standing on stage at the all ears summit

Last week, hundreds of artists, publishers, creators, and individuals working in the audio industry met up in Germany for Spotify’s All Ears Podcast Summit and All Music Friday Summit. The events offered a chance for attendees to hear from experts in their fields and gain insights on reaching larger audiences across podcasting and music.

Welcoming the podcast industry to Wilhelm Hallen

The 2023 All Ears Podcast Summit made history as the largest-ever podcast event in Germany. Experts from production, marketing, publishing, and advertising presented, shared advice, and connected. The conference, which spanned five stages at the Wilhelm Hallen conference center, included panels, interviews, workshops, and live podcast recordings.  

For the Record had the chance to talk to Saruul Krause-Jentsch, Spotify’s Head of Podcast in Germany, who shared more about the summit. 

“Podcasts are an important audio entertainment medium in Germany, about which, in which, and with which there is a lot of discussion,” she noted. “We generally take great pleasure in exchanging ideas with all our partners, creators, and competitors. Spotify is the most important podcast pioneer in Germany, not only because of our great content, but also because of the technology and tools we have available for creators. This event helps guide the conversation of the future of podcasting while also sharing more about our creator-focused mission with Spotify for Podcasters.” 

Creators and Experts Talk the Future of Podcasting at Spotify’s All Ears Summit in Berlin

graphic image that says the conference name "all ears" in big font

What can we learn from podcast analytics? What’s the future of podcasts? What are podcasts doing to drive change? These are just a few of the questions addressed yesterday at Spotify’s All Ears Summit in Berlin, Germany. Creators, producers, publishers, advertisers, and more convened for a conference to talk about the local and global podcast market.

The daylong summit had something for everyone. Fans had the opportunity to hear interviews from popular podcast producers and hosts like Sarah Koenig (Serial), Ira Glass (This American Life), and Tommi Schmitt (Gemischtes Hack). 

  • “I think for the kind of work I do, which is being a journalist, people have to believe that I am telling them what I know to the best of my knowledge. They have to trust me that I’ve done my homework as a reporter. . . . They have to trust you, that you’ve done your job well. That is huge for the kind of work I do.” – Sarah Koenig

Spotify’s Freeform ‘Unconference’ Gatherings Bring Big Ideas into Sharp Focus

Imagine showing up to a multiday conference only to find that beyond the light breakfast and lanyard, everything feels refreshingly informal. Yet, after two or three days, you and your colleagues have exchanged information and ideas essential to the development of your career—and that of the company. No, this isn’t too good to be true: You’ve just experienced an unconference.

Each year toward the end of September, Spotify dedicates a week to “unconferencing,” an empowerment-based concept that has its roots in the ’90s tech developer world. Any Spotify employee can offer up a high-level idea for an unconference; interested colleagues sign up, and things unfold organically from there. An unconference starts with a discussion and a vote on what people want to talk about—then they get to it. Even presenters can be determined on the fly. Critically, every working session or presentation ladders up to the larger theme.

“Unconference is, at its core, a form of disruption,” explains Tyson Singer, Spotify’s VP of Technology & Platform. “It improves upon the traditional conference structure because the attendees are the ones in charge. Not only is it most effective and engaging for them to drive their own professional development, everyone is invested in getting the most out of their time together.”

How they do so might depend on the size of the unconference. A smaller one might necessitate full participation in every session. But a larger unconference of, say, a few hundred colleagues typically allows more freedom: Attend or even volunteer to lead the sessions you want to; skip the ones you don’t. Large or small, however, the format lets everyone loosen up and speak openly on how they view their contribution to the company’s future, rather than the company telling them.

“We wanted to get everyone in the same space to discuss each function and how they fit into the larger picture,” says Angie Schmitz, Senior Data Solutions Lead, who organized a September 2018 unconference on voice-responsive technology for seventy colleagues. “It provided an opportunity for people to ask questions and network across all the work streams.”

An unconference needn’t be focused on tech, however. It can work well for just about any discipline, as well as across disparate functions. Senior Software Engineer Ariel Marcus, for example, arranged his September 2018 unconference for seventy-five attendees from design, product, engineering, and finance. It was, he says, “an amazing opportunity for collaboration across departments, disciplines, and continents.”

Even better is when unconferences overlap or occur consecutively in one location, as they typically do at Spotify.

Josh Blaney, R&D Engineering Manager, scheduled his three-day unconference on web culture just before one on machine learning—and attended both. “This was entirely outside of my wheelhouse,” he admits, but he can now see how his web work converges with a field that’s an important part of Spotify’s future. “I feel like I have a good grasp of the fundamentals,” he says.

Whether it’s one unconference or a couple strung together on different topics, the end benefit is clear so long as the attendees collaborate closely, start to finish. “[You] get a better perspective by listening to others,” Josh explains. “That’s really something special.”

Stay focused in your regular, conference-free workday with Spotify’s Morning Motivation playlist.