Unlocking Spotify’s Podcast Monetization: Is It Really for You?

Spotify Monetization

At the end of last year, Spotify announced their new monetization options for podcasters, Spotify Partner Program and Subscriptions.

Now, while at first this might appear great news – after all, it might seem tempting to be making money on arguably the largest podcast platform in the world – chances are, for the average podcaster, that’s not going to happen because of their eligibility limitations for the partner program.

For example, you need:

  • to be hosted with Spotify for Creators
  • have 10,000 streamed hours on Spotify in the last 30 days
  • have been streamed by 2,000 unique Spotify users in the last thirty days
  • and have at least 12 episodes published.

Now, the first and last bullet points aren’t deal breakers as such, but the main two – the 10,000 hours and 2,000 unique Spotify users in the last 30 days – definitely could be, and probably are, for several reasons.

According to the Podcast Marketing Academy’s “Podcast Marketing Trends 2024″:

  • the average podcast has 425 downloads per episode
  • the average podcast has 1,132 downloads per month

So if your figures are similar to that of the average podcast, then the Spotify Partner Program is out of reach. Unfortunately, that, and the fact a lot of listeners won’t use Spotify for personal reasons, is a great example of why having multiple monetization options without restrictions is key.

So things like Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, direct sponsors, premium exclusive episodes, merchandise, affiliate marketing, and more. Many podcast hosting companies also offer great options like memberships, private podcasts, etc.

By keeping multiple options open and not restricted to a single platform, you’ll also be better positioned to manage if one of these options are no longer available to you, which can make a huge difference to your revenue goals.

Until the next time, happy podcasting.

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