Spotify to Soon Begin Offering Podcast Subscription Service

Spotify will soon begin offering podcast subscriptions to its users.

Next week, Spotify will launch its podcast subscription option for partners, reads a new report from Wall Street Journal. But the company will be letting content creators keep 100 percent of the subscription fees — Spotify will not take a cut of podcast subscription revenue, sources confirmed.

By contrast, Apple will keep up to 30 percent of podcast subscription fees under its program, which is launching next month.

“With Apple making its move into subscription, there is this platform war emerging,” said Josh Lindgren, head of Creative Artists Agency’s podcast department.

Spotify’s chief content and advertising business officer, Dawn Ostroff, said the rush of other bets on podcasting validates the company’s early moves.

“We saw the opportunity before anybody else did, and we’ve been at it significantly longer than anyone else,” she said.

Spotify will be routing users to its website when they try to purchase or subscribe to a podcast via its app. That way, the company will avoid paying Apple any fees for in-app transactions.

Currently, Spotify doesn’t allow customers to pay for subscriptions through Apple in-app purchases — and Spotify has been a very vocal critic of Apple’s App Store policies, which has included lodging a formal complaint with the European Union alleging anticompetitive behavior.

Spotify has lately given a huge push to podcasts on its platform as the competition heats up with the arrival of big names in the game. Spotify launched video podcasts last year for both free and premium users.

Earlier this month, Facebook announced a partnership with Spotify that will allow users to hear podcasts pulled from the streaming platform in the social media app itself.