Tag: monetization

Five Fast Facts About Podcast Creator Monetization on Spotify

March 8, 2023

We know that many podcasters are able to establish their creative business on Patreon. But until now, there wasn’t an easy way for fans to listen to Patreon podcasts on Spotify. So today at Stream On, we were excited to announce that podcasters will be able to deliver patron content to their listeners on Spotify, and fans can easily listen to all their favorite episodes.

But the money talk went well beyond Patreon. Since launching in 2021, the Spotify Audience Network has grown by leaps and bounds as we’ve worked to connect advertisers with leading podcast publishers looking to monetize their shows. Also around that time, we acquired Megaphone, which has since become Spotify’s hosting, insights, and monetization solution for enterprise publishers like The Wall Street Journal, Paramount, and ESPN. Together, these tools give creators the ability to choose how to monetize, and we had plenty to discuss around both. 

Here are the five takeaways you need to know:

  1. The number of podcasters taking part in the Spotify Audience Network has grown eightfold in the last two years. And since we launched the Spotify Audience Network in 2021, monthly payout to opted-in publishers has grown by nearly 50% while advertiser participation has increased by 500%. So as we continue to scale the Spotify Audience Network, our intent is to make this kind of growth available to all creators.
  2. We’re pleased to welcome NPR to the Spotify Audience Network marketplace. 
  3. Recent additions to Megaphone’s roster of publishers include Netflix and Australia’s Schwartz Media. 
  4. In the future, Megaphone will be uniquely integrated into Spotify for Podcasters. And as of today, all Megaphone publishers have everything they need to create a successful podcast business across the new Spotify for Podcasters and Megaphone.
  5. Through our partnership with Patreon, powered by Spotify Open Access, podcasters will be able to publish patron-only content on Spotify. Patrons will be able to link their Patreon account to their Spotify account to access their Patreon-exclusive podcasts right where they’re already listening to all their audio content.

We’ll continue to explore new monetization models so that you continue to have options for how to build your business.

Spotify Takes to the Stage: Connecting Artists With Concertgoers

March 8, 2023

S4A_FTR_Blog_MerchxTicketing

Today at Spotify Stream On, artists, songwriters, podcasters, and authors from around the world joined us for a day of news, networking, and inspiration—and a deeper look into how artists can better connect with their fans on our platform. And what better way to do that than helping fans experience their favorite artists IRL?

Over half of our listeners are unaware of when their favorite artists are in town. Of those users, one in three say they would have gone to the concert had they known about it. So in 2022, we worked with artists, venues, and ticketing partners to list over 840,000 concerts on our Live Events Feed, which is one of our most rapidly growing channels—and our users’ personal gig calendar. We even closed out 2022 by featuring personalized concert recommendations in the Wrapped hub for the first time—across more than 60 languages globally. All this goes further to help artists reach more fans of their music and help fans make sure they never miss a show. 

In 2023, we’re going to keep diving headfirst into concert discoverability.

For artists, this means more places to inform fans about their latest shows and tours. First, we’ll be integrating ticket offers into the “Now Playing” view so artists can grab a listener’s attention right when their music is resonating most. Additionally, artists can spotlight concert dates to the top of their profiles, and soon to their This Is playlists. With these new ticketing features, we’ll not only help artists better promote their shows, but also make sure that Spotify is our listeners’ go-to resource for finding concerts they love.

Fans can make sure they never miss another show with these concert integration opportunities right in the Spotify app:

Live Events Feed: Our main in-app concert destination lets you find concert listings based on your location and favorite artists. You can also adjust your location to browse concerts in other cities and countries, all personalized to your taste.

“Interested” button: Wherever you see a concert listing, you’ll be able to hit the “Interested” button and tag the events you want to attend. That way in the future, you can check in on your personal gig calendar in the Live Events Feed.

Fans First Emails: Make sure you’re following and streaming your favorite artists on Spotify for the chance to be recognized as a top listener—we send Fans First emails and notifications to those engaged users, putting them at the front of the line for special access to concert pre-sales and merch exclusives. 

Of course, no concert is complete without the merch table. While you can currently find your favorite artists’ merch on their profile pages and their album and single pages, we’re also going to start adding it to the “Now Playing” view so you can buy the merch after falling in love with their song.

The Latest Spotify Audience Network Innovations for Advertisers and Anchor Creators

October 6, 2021

This past February at Stream On, we announced the Spotify Audience Network, our first-of-its-kind audio advertising marketplace that enables advertisers to connect with listeners enjoying a broad range of music and podcast content. Since then, we’ve launched the network in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada with Spotify Originals & Exclusives and third-party podcasts from Megaphone publishers like The Wall Street Journal and ViacomCBS. What’s more, since launch, the number of podcasts in our network has grown by more than 50%—with even more on the way.

While the Spotify Audience Network is still in its early days, we’re pleased with the impact we’ve already seen from this new, audience-centric approach to podcast buying. The result? Greater reach for advertisers and higher earnings for opted-in Megaphone publishers. 

Introducing Anchor to the Spotify Audience Network

Behind the scenes, we’ve continued to develop new ways for podcast creators to earn from their work, including the launch of subscriptions and evolving Anchor’s monetization suite. And today, following a successful test period, we are officially opening up the Spotify Audience Network to Anchor creators in the U.S. 

Advertiser enthusiasm for the podcast industry has skyrocketed over the last year and with this launch, top Anchor creators will be able to take advantage of this growing demand while having yet another way to monetize their content. 

And for advertisers, the introduction of Anchor into the Spotify Audience Network will enable them to connect with even more immersed listeners as they stream some of the fastest growing, most dynamic podcasts in the world, such as Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry, How Long Gone, and Office Hours live with Tim Heidecker. Anchor powers 70% of Spotify’s podcast catalog, so this new capacity rapidly scales the breadth of advertisers’ reach.

“I’m really excited to be part of the Spotify Audience Network as an Anchor creator,” says the creator of rSlash. “Anchor’s been an amazing platform and has helped my podcast grow to where it is now. Based on the success Anchor and Spotify have driven for me so far, I have full confidence that the new monetization models they’re offering will help creators like me expand our businesses further.”

Podcast ads for all

But wait: there’s more. 

Advertisers of all sizes have been vying to take advantage of the benefits of podcasts, but it hasn’t been so simple. Until now, advertisers had to have a direct relationship with the Spotify team and a sizable budget to advertise in our podcast network. Now though, we’re leveling the playing field and soon, all types of advertisers—universities, independent artists, app developers, and more—will be able to realize the value of podcast ads. In the coming weeks, we’ll be introducing podcast ad buying to Spotify Ad Studio, our easy-to-use, self-serve channel. We’re starting in the U.S. with plans to expand to more markets in the future.

Giving advertisers more confidence and control while enforcing a brand-safe environment

Today, we’re also announcing that we’re joining the Global Alliance of Responsible Media (GARM) as the first audio platform among its ranks. As a member, we will help set brand safety standards in audio for the industry while ensuring we’re aligning to their already-established guidelines.

“This year, consumers called Spotify the most-trusted ad platform,” says Lee Brown, VP, Global Head of Advertising Business. “Maintaining that trust—both from our listeners and our partners—is of the utmost importance to us. We already do that through our content and brand safety policies, which utilize a combination of people and technology to moderate what’s appropriate. But there’s always more to do. GARM cements our commitment to this by adhering to a set of industry guidelines.”

What’s more, we are launching the ability to exclude sensitive topics, offering advertisers more confidence and control over where their message is heard across the network. We’re also supercharging our contextual targeting tools, enabling new controls to allow advertisers to target their messages against relevant podcast topics (think: an animal shelter reaching listeners while they enjoy a show about pets).

The time is now

Interested in learning more about these launches, including how to get started? Advertisers can find more details over at Ads.Spotify.com. And Anchor podcasters can learn more about the Spotify Audience Network and the full suite of monetization offerings over at Anchor’s blog.