Spotify is following in Apple's footsteps.
The Swedish audio platform, which has made podcasting one of its major areas of development, in turn allows podcast publishers to make some of their audio programs chargeable.
This feature, deployed in the United States in the spring, is available this Wednesday in around twenty countries around the world (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Singapore, Australia ...) and will arrive on November 22 in France.
It is open to all podcast creators, regardless of their audience level.
Read alsoAfter Apple, Spotify allows podcast creators to pay for listening to some of their programs
Concretely, a podcast studio can compose at will a paid subscription offer, which will be marketed from 1.99 euros per month.
This offer may contain programs reserved for subscribers.
But publishers can also offer their most engaged listeners to pay to listen to their favorite programs in preview and without commercial breaks.
Spotify Premium subscribers will not have a pass and will also have to pay to access these programs under paywall.
Spotify France has partnered with four French studios to launch its new feature.
Paradiso (2.99 euros per month) and Unique Heritage Media (1.99 euros) subscriptions target children with podcasts on historical figures (
Quelle Histoire, the podcast
) or short stories, fables and songs (
DISO
).
Nouvelles Listenings offers its usual podcasts without advertising as well as previews, while Binge Audio will market a new paid podcast in early 2022.
Lower commissions than Apple
"
Spotify will not charge commissions until 2023. Beyond that, our commission on subscriptions will be 5%,
" said Claire Hazan, director of podcast activities at Spotify France.
This rate is much more advantageous for creators than that applied by Apple Podcasts, which deducts 30% from subscriptions taken out on its application (a rate that falls to 15% in the second year).
Read alsoDay for the launch of subscriptions on Apple Podcasts
The Swedish platform also intends to distinguish itself by the opening of its offer.
Nothing obliges the subscriber to listen to their paid podcasts on Spotify;
these can be embedded in any reader application via a private RSS feed.
This feature complements another, called Spotify Open Access Platform (SOAP).
It allows you to listen to paid podcasts marketed by other players on Spotify.
This is the case, for example, of media which offer their subscribers podcasts which are reserved for them.
"
This makes it easier for the user to listen
," says Claire Hazan.
In France, SOAP will soon be tested by Mediapart.