NEW YORK, New York — Spotify on Tuesday began rolling out paid podcast Memberships in 34 markets, including the United States, giving eligible creators a new way to sell recurring access to exclusive content and other benefits.
Spotify said creators may offer exclusive audio or video, bonus episodes, early access, archives and fewer ads, with multiple pricing tiers. Free and Premium listeners can join from a participating show’s Spotify page.
The company says creators retain 90% of the revenue they generate. Spotify’s separate official fee schedule describes a 10% platform fee, deducted from net earnings, that includes payment-processing, foreign-exchange and payout fees. Applicable taxes are handled separately. Legacy Podcast Subscriptions moved into Memberships keep their earlier 5.5% processing fee, plus any foreign-exchange fee, until those subscriptions are canceled.
According to Spotify’s October 20 announcement, a show must be hosted on Spotify for Creators or Megaphone and have at least three published episodes, 100 listeners or viewers and 100 consumption hours on Spotify during the previous 30 days. Membership payouts are scheduled on a rolling 30-day basis after an initial validation period, subject to a $10 minimum and completion of payment information.
The launch lowers the audience threshold for a direct-support option that can supplement advertising and sponsorships. For independent podcasters, the tradeoff is access to Spotify’s built-in promotion, checkout and analytics in exchange for the platform fee and reliance on Spotify-controlled membership tools.
Spotify has not disclosed expected creator adoption, membership conversion rates or how quickly the feature will reach every eligible show in the initial markets.