Swedish streaming audio giant Spotify is courting more video creators, podcasters and influencers in an effort to step up its competition with popular digital platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The Stockholm-based company on Wednesday hosted creators at its office in Downtown L.A.
’s Arts District , where executives showed off new features meant to make it easier for video makers to make money from their content and track their performance on the streaming service. The company is launching a new program to help creators earn more advertising and subscription revenue, Spotify said. For example, Spotify Premium subscribers will soon be able to view videos on the service without ads.
This comes after some video podcasters have groused about the number of commercial breaks in their shows, which can irritate paying listeners. Qualified creators can earn money based on how often the ad-free videos are streamed. “Now, financial success and quality of your show aren’t at odds anymore — they are correlated,” said Spotify’s co-president and chief product and technology officer, Gustav Söderström, during the event.
Ad-free videos will start in January for premium users in the U.S., U.
K., Australia and Canada. Spotify users who do not want to pay for a subscription can still listen to music, podcasts and audiobooks for free with ads.
Video creators earn a share of those ad revenues. Audio-only podcasts will still have ads for Premium users. Once a pure stream.
