Spotify to Exclude “White Noise” Podcasts from Monetization Program
Podcasts featuring “white noise” content, such as bird songs, forest sounds, rain, waves, or the hum of vacuum cleaners and fans, receive 3 million hours of daily listens on the Spotify platform thanks to an algorithm that promoted such content to listeners as part of Spotify’s efforts to become the top choice for podcasts. Creators of “white noise” podcasts were earning up to $18,000 per month. However, starting from October 1st, they will be excluded from the Ambassador Ads monetization program.
While the company no longer intends to spend its marketing budget supporting “white noise” podcasters, they can still earn money on the platform through paid subscribers, listener support, and third-party advertising.
The Ambassador Ads program pays content creators based on listening statistics, and some podcasters were earning substantial sums through it. Spotify managers claim that they could increase annual gross profit by $38 million by removing “white noise” podcasts and redirecting listeners to other types of content, but so far, “no proposal has been made on the matter.”
As part of the Ambassador Ads program update, Spotify has raised the audience threshold required for podcasters to participate from 100 to 1,000 unique Spotify listeners in the last 60 days. The company also plans to invite more podcast hosts into its program for automated advertising, where participants can expect to receive 50% of the revenue.
It’s no surprise that Spotify is seeking ways to increase its profits. Over the past few years, the streaming giant has achieved mixed success: the latest revenue report shows that the service has 220 million paid subscribers, a 27% increase compared to the previous year. However, the company is generating about 6% less revenue per subscriber and cut 200 jobs in June.
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