On Tuesday, Spotify announced that all US-based creators can use its podcast creation tool, Anchor, to offer subscriber-only content to their audiences.
The company initially launched this service to a small number of creators in April for testing purposes. And while it is only open to US-based creators at the moment, international creators can access it from September 15.
Spotify has taken this step to compete with Apple which launched its podcast subscription product in June. At the moment, it – Spotify – won’t take any cut of the revenue. Consequently, creators get to keep all their earnings minus processing fees. However, from 2023, the platform will charge a 5% cut of earnings for the service.
In contrast, Apple charges 30% of subscribers’ revenues for the first year and 15% for subsequent years. Further, users have to pay a $19.99 to enrol in the Apple Podcasters Program to use the product.
Finally, the company has expanded its price point from three options to 20 options. The lowest tier costs $0.49 and the highest costs $150. Also, it offers creators the ability to download their audience members’ email addresses. With this, creators can engage with their subscribers and develop a direct relationship with them.