Live from Spotify's LA campus, today we announced a series of new offerings aimed at helping creators significantly grow their audiences and better monetize their video podcasts on Spotify. During Now Playing, some of the world's leading creators, artists, and authors joined us for valuable updates on our business from company executives, connected with Spotify's Creator Partnerships team, and explored our state-of-the-art video and audio production facilities.Daniel Ek (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Spotify)
Spotify Premium has long set the standard for listening on any device, shared Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek. By delivering a best-in-class video offering uninterrupted by ad breaks, combined with Spotify's flexibility and ubiquity, we can provide an experience for your audience that is superior to any platform. And by giving you, the creators, another path to monetization beyond ads, we're freeing you up to spend more time doing what you love: creating.
So, what's in store for creators? They'll be part of a new and industry-leading audience-driven payout model for Premium video consumption, and their fans will now get video content uninterrupted by ads. Spotify's Partner Program, a brand-new monetization program for creators hosted with Spotify, will launch that allows creators to earn more for their audio and video content. This program will offer both audience-driven payouts from our premium video revenue and an Ads component.
Spotify is one of the largest platforms in the world for creators, with more than 640 million users and more than 250 million subscribers. Video consumption is rapidly growing on Spotify, so we're improving the viewing experience and equipping creators with the tools and resources they need to connect with fans, grow, and monetize.
We've seen shifts in podcast trends across the industry globally, and one of them is that video consumption hours have expanded rapidly-more than 250 million users have watched a video podcast on Spotify, and nearly two-thirds of podcast listeners say they prefer podcasts with video.
The number of creators actively publishing videos monthly on Spotify has grown by more than 50% year over year. There are now more than 300,000 video podcast shows on Spotify, including popular shows like The Joe Rogan Experience, Call Her Daddy, The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett, Rotten Mango, The Comment Section with Drew Afualo, Therapuss with Jake Shane, What Now? with Trevor Noah, Modern Wisdom, Erika Taught Me, and more. We've also recently activated music videos in 85 additional markets, and the engagement has continued to soar.
Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Spotify
By many metrics, it is the fastest way to succeed on Spotify today. Half of the new podcasts that build sustained audiences include video, said Spotify Co-President and Chief Product Officer Gustav S derstr m. And with the new tools, features, and experiences we're launching, we expect that edge will continue to grow. This is an opportunity for everyone in the room and beyond.
For creators How does it all work? Whether someone is a current audio-only podcaster, new to embracing video on our platform, or an established video creator not yet on Spotify, our latest video offerings will unlock additional paths to monetization and growth.
Monetize
Eligible creators can apply now to join the Spotify Partner Program. This new monetization program opens more opportunities for creators to earn revenue for their content and transform their shows into sustainable businesses. The Spotify Partner Program has two components: Premium Video Revenue and Ads. Both programs will be available to creators to earn revenue based on video consumption from Spotify Premium subscribers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia beginning in January.
Grow
We're evolving our podcaster platform to better serve the needs of today's multiformat creators with a more expansive and streamlined hub: Spotify for Creators.
Connect
We're creating more opportunities for creators to deepen connections with their fans and deliver the best video-viewing experience with Spotify.
Discover
We're introducing video clips for creators to enhance discoverability and promote their podcast episodes on Spotify.
Click to read more details about these new opportunities and programs for creators and consumers.
This is an opportunity for everyone in the room and beyond, Gustav continued. Our goal is to build the best experience for you so that you can better connect with your audience. And deliver your creativity to the world.
For the fans As we've made it easier for fans to navigate and discover music, podcasts, and audiobooks on Spotify, we're leveraging our platform's flexibility to give fans new ways to experience video.
In addition to Premium subscribers in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada getting video content uninterrupted by ads beginning in January, we're making it easy for fans to stream their favorite video content in the foreground or background without disrupting the experience-whether they are using Spotify Free or Premium. For example, they can begin an episode while getting ready for the day, watching in the foreground before slipping their phones into their pockets to continue listening in the background as they commute.
Fans can expect an array of great video features, including chapters, comments, pinch-to-zoom, thumbnail scrubbing, and new ways to find and go deep on podcasts.
Check out more coverage from Spotify's Now Playing event.
