With more than 3.2 million podcasts on Spotify, we know it can be daunting for listeners to find a new show they love. That’s why we’ve prioritized podcast discovery through features like Podcast Charts and personalized recommendations. And once listeners find a new show that looks promising, we want to make sure they have all the information they need to hit play—including a sense of how other listeners have enjoyed it.
So starting today, we’re beginning to roll out ratings for podcasts: a star rating system that improves podcast discoverability by highlighting shows’ popularity. Podcast ratings give listeners an opportunity to support their favorite podcast shows and enable a two-way feedback loop between creator and listener.
How—and why—it works
After listening to a show, fans will have the opportunity to give it a rating using a 1–5 star system. The average rating will be publicly displayed on the podcast’s show page on Spotify, along with the total number of ratings the show has received.
By introducing ratings, we’re making it easier for listeners to decide when to try out a new podcast that might be their next favorite. Because podcast ratings will serve as the first chance to draw new listeners in, they have the potential to build instant interest.
Ratings also give creators a big-picture view of how they’re doing, which they can then use productively by asking for more specific feedback—via Q&As on Spotify and in off-platform social conversations. We recommend that creators start building their ratings by letting their audiences know to rate them on Spotify. (Check out Anchor’s blog for more on how to take advantage of this new feature!)
We know listeners all over the world love podcasts, so this new rating feature will be available in nearly all markets where podcasts are on Spotify. It will start to roll out to users over the coming days—so be on the lookout.
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