Spotify launches paid podcast memberships in 34 markets

Spotify launched paid podcast memberships on October 20, giving creators a way to charge listeners for exclusive content and other benefits. The feature is available in 34 markets, including the United States, and Spotify says creators keep 90% of membership revenue. Creators choose what members receive. Options include bonus audio or video, early access to episodes and fewer ads, with benefits packaged into different tiers and price points. The program is intended to let listeners support shows through recurring payments while giving creators another source of income. Spotify says a show must be hosted on Spotify for Creators or Megaphone to qualify. It must also have at least 100 consumption hours, at least 100 listeners or viewers, and three published episodes. The company says memberships appear on a show’s Spotify page, where listeners can subscribe and access member content. Spotify has said purchases are made on the web rather than through in-app purchases. Another account described listeners paying through a show page in the Spotify app. The precise checkout process is not clear from those descriptions, so it is uncertain whether starting in the app leads to a web...