Spotify has taken on the competition for creators with its over 640 million users, and more than 250 million subscribers worldwide to become one of the largest such platforms. With it, Spotify seeks to help monetize the content by creators and get them to more audiences. Today is an official launch for Spotify’s new partner program; and this represents yet another level of monetizing streams for a range of content creators, bringing about the exciting possibilities of listening and revenue creation in an incredibly huge audience base. Let us learn more on how this would function.
What is the Spotify Partner Program?
The Spotify Partner Program was first announced at Spotify’s Now Playing event, with the intention of offering powerful tools to transform the podcasts of creators in select markets into profitable ventures. The regions include the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia. The program offers eligible creators the ability to earn revenue through audience-driven payouts from Spotify Premium video engagement and advertisements that can be placed in both Spotify Free and other podcast platforms. This dual revenue model offers flexibility and the ability to generate consistent income.
Monetizing through ads
The best thing about the Spotify Partner Program is the possibility of earning money through ads. With over 600 million listeners, Spotify presents a huge audience to creators for whom brands want to reach. The program will mean that creators will no longer need to deal with the intricacies of finding advertising partners and negotiating deals. Instead, Spotify directly deals with thousands of advertisers in helping match the right creators with the right brands.
The best part? Spotify automatically optimizes the connection between your podcast and the right advertisers based on real-time data. This means that each listener will hear the most relevant ads, tailored to their preferences, so they can listen without interruption and in a completely personalized way. Creators will still be in control of where ad breaks appear in their episodes, and they can even use the Smart Ad Breaks tool to automate this process.
Premium video revenue
Video content is part of the world of podcasting, and this is something Spotify is taking into account. As long as these creators publish video episodes and are part of the Spotify Partner Program, they can collect Premium video revenue from Spotify Premium subscribers. Once a Premium subscriber streams a video podcast from any creator, there will be no dynamic ads, and the subscriber will have an ad-free viewing experience. Creators will earn based on how many times the content stream.
For users who do not subscribe to Spotify Premium, the dynamic ads will continue to play. This means creators will still earn revenue from ad support on video and audio episodes. The system ensures that every creator can make money from ad revenue while delivering a better experience for Premium subscribers.
Who can apply?
To qualify for the Spotify Partner Program, creators need to fulfill a number of requirements:
- Your show must be hosted on Spotify for Creators.
- You need to have a legal address in one of the eligible markets (U.S., U.K., Canada, or Australia).
- You must have published at least 12 episodes.
- Your show needs to have at least 10,000 consumption hours on Spotify in the past 30 days.
- You should have at least 2,000 unique listeners on Spotify in the last 30 days.
If your show meets the eligibility criteria, you may apply through the Monetize page in Spotify for Creators. The criteria may change; there might also be extra requirements, including adhering to Spotify’s monetization policies.
Staying active to keep earning
The activity of creators makes them eligible to the Spotify Partner Program. Within any six months, a show must have released at least one episode and gained at least $10 in order to maintain its eligibility. Therefore, the Spotify Partner Program allows only those who are active and engaged creators to be included in the program.
How to apply
The application process is simple. Here’s what creators need to do:
- Visit the Monetize page on Spotify for Creators to check eligibility.
- Once eligible, click Apply Now to begin the application process.
- Accept the Spotify Partner Program Terms.
- After your application is reviewed, Spotify will verify if your show meets the program’s criteria.
- If approved, you’ll be prompted to set up payment details through Spotify Payouts.
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Getting paid
After Spotify approves you for the program, they will ask for your bank details to receive the monthly payments. Payments through Spotify Payouts will need to be set up, hence you have to create an account in Spotify Payouts before this can be processed and will only process when completed.
Pausing the Spotify Partner Program
In case you want to halt the running of ads or wish to stop making Premium video revenue, you can do so very easily by simply logging into your Monetize page and then choosing Pause Spotify Partner Program. This will not only halt ads on your episodes but also put an end to Premium video revenue collection. Nonetheless, it takes around 10 business days before the ads on other platforms will be stopped from playing.
Creators who do not run their program for six consecutive months lose eligibility if revenue is not maintained at the required minimum threshold level.