Spotify's podcast payout programme goes global in 35 countries

If you've been podcasting somewhere outside the US, Europe, or Australia, Spotify just handed you a reason to pay attention. The company is rolling out its podcast Partner Program to 35 regions total, its biggest geographical expansion of the program yet.

New markets joining this fall include Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Poland, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas. Until now, the programme had only run in the US, Europe, and Australia, so this pushes Spotify's creator monetisation tools into major Latin American and additional European markets for the first time.

Eligible content producers earn money in two ways: premium subscriptions will generate video impressions for revenue, and the revenue from advertising is also shared by those who listen to the show for free. Spotify claims that podcasters have the freedom of choice, and they may distribute their podcasts via other media and retain all the money earned from sponsorships.

However, it is not some form of speculation because Spotify reveals that there has been an increase of 140% in the number of video podcast consumption since the feature launch in 2022, and there has been an overall growth of one-third of monthly payouts of shows just since January. 

It is probably the growth that drives the confidence in expanding the service into dozens of countries.

Moreover, back in January, Spotify lowered the requirement for podcasters in order to be able to use their videos for monetisation; now only three episodes, 2,000 consumption hours, and 1,000 engaged listeners during 30 days are needed.