Yesterday, Spotify announced it is expanding its partnership with Riverside and integrating the popular podcast creation service’s tools into Spotify for Podcasters. At the same time, it will sunset some of its own platform’s features in June, including web and mobile recording as well as Music + Talk. There is a lot to dig into in terms of what this means for podcast creators, and I will have more for you on Tuesday, but I have already heard from a number of music podcasters who say eliminating Music + Talk effectively kills their ability to make their shows.
Spotify is killing a feature music podcasters love
The decision comes as Spotify for Podcasters expands its deal with Riverside.
The decision comes as Spotify for Podcasters expands its deal with Riverside.
Image: The Verge
The feature, which was introduced in 2020, allowed creators to plug licensed, full-length tracks into episodes that ran on Spotify. And of all places you should be able to make a podcast about music with music in it, it’s Spotify. But according to Spotify spokesperson Jordan Smith, Music + Talk did not have much impact outside of the music podcasting niche.
“Music + Talk was a format we had high hopes for, but after 3 years of investment, it has not gained meaningful traction with listeners, and remains non-monetizable for creators,” Smith said in a statement to Hot Pod. “We believe we’ll make the most impact for creators by continuing to focus on tangible ways they can find and grow an audience and build a sustainable living. While we are always exploring unique formats and solutions for podcasters, we have nothing to share at this time.”
You can see on social media and in the comments on Spotify’s YouTube video explaining the transition that a segment of users are not thrilled. On one hand, nobody likes change, and people may get over the initial hurdle of getting used to Riverside’s tools. But the Music + Talk elimination is a particular problem for music podcasters that doesn’t have an easy fix.
The move comes as Spotify is being pickier with its spending (much to the glee of investors). We’ll see what comes out of Spotify’s next moves for podcast creators and if there is anything that meaningfully replaces what Music + Talk provided.
Lightning round
- Joe Rogan is back to number one on Apple Podcasts after more than three years off the platform. Call Her Daddy, which also started being distributed widely, is at number five.
- Podtrac found that downloads increased 6 percent in January compared to December. That’s welcome news after downloads tanked following the change iOS 17 made to automatic downloads in September.
- Edison found that podcasts account for 11 percent of all audio consumed in the fourth quarter of 2023, which was flat from the previous quarter. The category was fourth behind AM / FM radio (36 percent), music streaming (20 percent), and YouTube (14 percent).
- Pew Research Center reports that the guests who appeared on the most top-ranked podcasts in 2022 were astro scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedians Andrew Schulz and Ari Shaffir.
- This is not specific to podcasting, but this Vox article on self-promotion was deeply upsetting! It specifically talks about the self-marketing demands in music and book publishing, but I am sure some of you feel the slog as well.
Have a great weekend!
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