Spotify’s video podcast program draws praise from creators — and skepticism from networks
Spotify’s video podcast partner program is gaining traction with independent podcast creators drawn to its direct payouts — but major podcast networks remain hesitant, citing the lack of dynamic ad support for subscriber-only content.
Spotify launched its Partner Program in January, giving creators their first opportunity to share video content, and receive a cut of its ad and premium subscription revenue, on the previously audio-only platform. (Spotify has not publicly disclosed this percentage cut, but has offered to share an estimate with any creator who asks.) Six months in, video podcasters largely fall into two camps: independent individual creators embracing the format for its direct payouts and podcasters who are part of larger networks — which are holding back, wary that subscriber-only video could cannibalize their dynamic ad revenue.
The split primarily comes down to how much dynamic ad revenue podcasts generate from audio via tools like Simplecast or Spotify’s Megaphone service. Although this is a significant revenue stream for many podcasters, the Spotify Partner Program (SPP) doesn’t allow for dynamic ads to be served to premium Spotify subscribers when they consume a video podcast. Creators who are part of podcast networks that don’t want to lose access to this revenue stream are choosing to continue sharing their podcasts as Spotify audio, rather than video.
“When we’re uploading an MP4, then we can’t put ads in there anymore — and Spotify’s saying, ‘oh, but we’re going to pay you for views,” said Heather Osgood, the founder of podcast representation agency True Native Media. “I’m an ad sales company; I’m not a view sales company, right? So, that’s not super helpful to me.”
Reasons to be wary
Podcast networks’ wariness about sacrificing their dynamic ad revenue to opt into the Spotify Partner Program is an open secret within the podcasting industry. In addition to Osgood, four large podcasters and podcast network executives confirmed to Digiday that they have deliberately chosen not to opt into the Partner Program to preserve their dynamic ad revenue — but all requested anonymity to avoid jeopardizing their relationships with Spotify.
“Spotify is a pretty decent chunk of podcast consumption, so letting go of that takes away the advertising opportunity by five to 50 percent, depending on a lot of different characteristics,” said one podcast executive who requested anonymity. “So, that can be a pretty material chunk of your advertising opportunity.”
Although concerns over Spotify’s impact on ad monetization largely stem from podcast networks and podcast executives, rather than individual creators, the networks’ reluctance to opt in has a direct impact on individual podcast creators’ approaches to video content on Spotify.
A scan of the top podcasts on YouTube shows how major podcasters remain split on whether to opt into Spotify’s video program, with that split falling along podcast network lines. Of the top 10 podcasts, five — The Joe Rogan Experience, the MeidasTouch Podcast, the Shawn Ryan Show, Stephanie Soo’s Rotten Mango and This Past Weekend with Theo Von — have joined the Spotify Partner Program so far. Of those five, only the Shawn Ryan Show and Rotten Mango are part of a network; Joe Rogan has a distribution deal with Spotify, and MeidasTouch and This Past Weekend are independent podcasts. Conversely, top-10 podcasts that have not opted into video, such as the news podcast 48 hours, are part of podcast or media networks like CBS News.
“We’re not super happy with the direction that Spotify is pushing in, because it is fundamentally at odds with our goals, which are to drive audiences and monetize content via ad-supported means,” said another anonymous podcast company executive. “And Spotify’s KPI is premium subscribers, which is not aligned with our ad-supported strategy.”
An additive opportunity
Despite the potential loss of dynamic ad revenue, six video podcast creators, including Ryth, YMH Studios and the team at FlightStory — the producers of Steven Bartlett’s popular podcast The Diary of a CEO — told Digiday that the Spotify Partner Program paid out more than YouTube over the past six months. Ryth said the program helped him triple his income between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, with the creator making over $55,000 per month through Spotify’s revenue share, compared to roughly $25,000 per month from YouTube.
“It’s been a complete 180 compared to YouTube,” he said. “I’ve just been using it [earnings/payouts] to upscale the content; the majority of it is just reinvested back into the show.”
YMH Studios has seen weekly consumption of its podcasts grow by 45 percent since joining the Spotify Partner Program, according to the company’s head of ad operations and partnerships Alan Abdine, who told Digiday that YMH has experienced a corresponding boost in platform revenue as a result.
“We’re literally making 5x on Spotify of what we would for the equivalent type of category of user on YouTube,” he said.
For now, the Spotify Partner Program is most attractive to podcasters who do not rely on advertising revenue, whether as a business choice or a result of the edgier or less brand-safe nature of their content. FlightStory, for example, makes roughly 50 percent of its revenue from ads, a smaller proportion than many other podcast companies, according to CEO Georgie Holt.
The SPP juice might not be worth the squeeze yet for larger podcasters or podcast networks who make more money through dynamic ads — but for podcasters who are not over-leveraged on ads, joining the program is a no-brainer.
“As a podcaster myself, if I was hyper-reliant on dynamic ads as a massive part of my revenue and business, I would probably be reluctant to shut that off; I think any network would, and should, consider that first off, and I think Spotify is thinking about this as well,” said podcaster Casey Adams, the host of the Casey Adams Show and founder of the podcast data company Listener. “On the flip side, as an independent podcaster that’s not necessarily dependent on Spotify Megaphone ad revenue, [the SPP is] a more exciting opportunity.”
A Spotify representative said that the majority of SPP participants are making more money through the program than they would through dynamic ads, pointing out that creators are still able to make ad revenue through baked-in sponsorships and dynamic ads served on other platforms. The spokesperson added that Spotify does not view its video push as a conflict with YouTube, to create an additional revenue opportunity for video creators rather than forcing them to cannibalize their audience elsewhere. To help creators decide whether to opt into the program, Spotify is happy to share estimates of creators’ projected earnings from both ads and SPP revenue, per the spokesperson.
“Since launch, creators are seeing meaningful audience and revenue growth — surpassing what they previously earned,” said Spotify head of podcast business Roman Wasenmüller. “SPP opens up new revenue streams while building on creators’ existing businesses. We’re just at the start, and as video consumption continues to grow on Spotify, so will the opportunity for creators.”
Growing pains or not, Spotify’s evolution from an audio platform to a home for video content is well underway, and the push appears to be bearing fruit. In April, Spotify announced that it had paid out over $100 million to podcasters in the first quarter of 2025, with overall video podcast consumption on the platform rising by 39 percent year-over-year.
“They’ve really given us more opportunities to diversify our income streams,” said FlightStory CRO Christiana Brenton. “And that model, in particular, works well for shows that have embraced video and are on a growth trajectory.”
https://digiday.com/?p=581055
