Spotify has launched a new Memberships feature for podcast creators, giving them a new way to monetise their audiences through exclusive content, while offering fans the option to listen with fewer ads.
Available in Australia as part of an initial rollout across 34 markets, Memberships allows eligible creators to offer paying subscribers benefits including exclusive audio and video, bonus episodes, early access to content and reduced advertising.
The move gives podcast creators another revenue stream beyond advertising, sponsorships and the Spotify Partner Program, while giving them more ways to build direct relationships with their audiences.
Creators can choose what to include in their memberships, with the flexibility to package benefits across multiple tiers and pricing options. Fans can discover offers through a show’s Spotify page, subscribe and access member-only content without leaving the platform.
And for advertisers, the feature introduces another consideration around how audiences access podcast content, with paying members potentially exposed to fewer ads depending on the benefits selected by individual creators.
In its blog post shared today, Spotify said creators can use built-in tools including targeted promotions, free trials and analytics to convert existing listeners and viewers into paying members.
They can also access exportable membership data, including contact information from fans who choose to share it, helping them maintain relationships with their audiences beyond the platform.
Creators retain 90 per cent of the revenue generated through Memberships, with Spotify positioning the feature as an additional way to build sustainable businesses from their existing audiences.
Memberships are available to eligible shows hosted on Spotify for Creators or Megaphone that have published at least three episodes and recorded 100 listeners or viewers and 100 consumption hours on Spotify in the previous 30 days.
The initial rollout includes Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK and 30 other markets.
Spotify has not made reduced advertising a universal benefit of Memberships. Instead, fewer ads are one of the options creators can choose to offer subscribers, meaning the impact on advertising exposure will depend on how individual shows structure their memberships.
