Spotify now lets podcasters sell paid memberships to fans and keep 90% of the revenue, according to the company.
Memberships can bundle three kinds of perks: ad-free listening, early access to episodes, and bonus content. The last is the familiar one, since creators have sold extra episodes for years. Ad-free listening and early access are less about what is in a show and more about how and when listeners get it.
Spotify hasn't said how the other 10% is split or which podcasters are eligible. Those details will decide how much the 90% figure is worth, and for now it is the company's own pitch.
The move puts Spotify in a field that Patreon and Apple Podcasts already occupy, both of which let creators charge listeners directly. The likely appeal here is convenience: a fan already listening to a show can pay without leaving the app. The ad-free perk is the more interesting lever, because it asks a creator to weigh subscription income against ad income from the same listener.
The real test is whether fans who already pay a creator elsewhere move their subscription over, or whether Spotify mostly reaches listeners who never paid anyone.