Do Podcasters Get Paid On Spotify? (We Checked)

There are many options to make money on Spotify.

Whether you are an experienced podcaster with a big following on social media or a beginner, you can earn money if you use the right strategy. Podcasting can be a full-time job, but most bloggers rely on sponsors.

But what about podcasting?

Here’s How Podcasters Get Paid On Spotify:

Podcasters earn money through direct support from Patreon donations, premium tier content charges, sponsorships by promoting advertisements, charging the sponsors on a CPM basis, and affiliate marketing through promoting affiliate links and earning commissions on purchases.

Does Spotify Pay Podcasters Money?

Spotify pays select podcasters money for royalties.

According to Loud and Clear, Spotify pays artists and songwriters indirectly through rights holders who include: 

• Record labels
• Distributors
• Aggregators
• Collecting societies

The artists and songwriters enter into agreements with rights holders permitting them to distribute their content, including delivering it to Spotify.

Spotify pays 2/3 of every dollar they make on the content to rights holders, including payment for premium tier content and advertisements.

The loyalties payment goes into two different buckets, namely:

• Recording
• Publishing

Recording rights constitute about 75%-80%, and distribution rights about 20%-25% of the payouts.

The division of the payouts depends on the rights holder’s share of total streams on Spotify in each market worldwide.

Then, the rights holders pay the artists depending on their agreement with the artists. Spotify doesn’t control how much the artists get.

How Come Spotify Doesn’t Pay All Podcasters Just Like Bands?

If and how much Spotify pays you as a podcaster or a band depends on some factors, including: 

• The number of listeners or followers you have
• The monetization strategies you employ
• The number of markets your content streams on
• Your agreement with the rights holder 

Spotify may pay bands higher than podcasters because bands probably have more followers than podcasters.

Podcasting requires patience and consistency. If you are starting and don’t have fans, it might take some time to gain followers and build credibility before earning.

On the other hand, if you have many social media followers, you may start earning sooner if you successfully promote your podcasts through social media and convince your followers to listen to them.

Plus, if you have a big following, say 5,000 listeners or more per episode, your shows will be more credible and attract more sponsors, meaning you can negotiate higher ad rates. 

Similarly, when more people listen to or download your podcasts, there are higher chances that your affiliate marketing links will generate higher sales and rake in more commissions.

Sometimes, rights holders or show hosts take significant cuts from small podcasters’ money, reducing their paychecks.

However, suppose you have a vast following, combine various monetization methods, and stream your podcasts across different markets. In that case, you can earn more money from podcasting than bands like Joe Rogan.

How Big A Podcaster Should You Be For Spotify To Pay You?

You don’t have to be a very big podcaster to get paid by Spotify.

The key to earning money through podcasting is ensuring your show has many listeners.

To achieve this, you need to produce content that will appeal to as many people as possible. The best criteria to apply if you are just getting started is to select a topic with the potential to attract the most listeners.

Searching your target topic in the iTunes library will help you determine if it has a high demand.

 If your topic has demand, aim at creating the best content possible for the subject.

If it has fewer search results, it has a low market and fewer chances for you to grow and earn impressive income.

How Do Spotify Podcasters Make Money?

There are different ways to monetize your podcasts on Spotify.

To be successful, you need to apply as many strategies as possible to earn money from various sources.

Some of the common avenues through which you can make money as a podcaster include: 

• Sponsorships/advertisements
• Affiliate marketing
• Paid podcasts
• Online courses
• Services
• Consulting and coaching
• Direct support and premium content
• Public speaking
• Selling books
• Selling physical products

Placing Advertisements In The Show (Sponsorship):

Sponsorships/advertising is one of the primary avenues through which you can monetize your podcast.

Podcasts charge for ads at a cost per 1,000 listeners(CPM) rate, ranging from $18-$100. The more credible your show is to advertisers, the higher the rate you can charge. 

Sponsors/advertisers will pay you to promote their brands/products during your show. You may place adverts at the beginning of the podcast(pre-roll), within the advert(mid-roll), or at the end of the advert(post-roll).

Mid-roll adverts are the most effective and highest-paid; they get the most listeners’ attention.

Here’s a simple example of how to calculate your ad revenue.

Let’s assume your podcast episode has 100,000 downloads and an advertiser is paying $20 CPM. Your income will be:

• 20 x 100 = $2,000 per episode 

Suppose you have 2 adverts in the same episode, at the same CPM, you will earn:

• 2 x [20×100] = $ 4,000 

If you produce 4 podcasts weekly, each containing 2 ads for $20 CPM, your weekly ad income will be:

• 4 x $2,000 = $8,000 

Commissions From Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is another primary avenue for earning money on Spotify podcasts.

You quote a unique link in your podcast through which your listeners can purchase products. The seller pays you commissions on purchases customers make through your link.

You can approach companies you admire and offer to promote their services or goods for a commission.

Amazon products are amongst the leading in affiliate sales. For instance, you can estimate about $500-$900 an episode from affiliate sales if your episode has 10,000 downloads. 

For effective affiliate sales monetization, it is best to ensure that the seller gives you an easy-to-pronounce link so your listeners can understand.

Direct Support and Premium Content:

Direct support is one of the immediate solutions to monetizing your show as a small podcaster.

You can request your listeners to help support your shows by sending you money.

If your personality and content are pleasant, you may find many people willing to help you continue producing episodes.

The right way to do it is to create a Patreon account then come up with a page explaining why you need support.

The best way of getting your audience to support you is by compensating them through premium content. You can charge for downloadable resources, live chats, bonus episodes, accessing episodes early, Facebook groups, and newsletters.

Public Speaking Gigs:

If you are an established podcaster, you may also get offers to speak at conferences on topics relating to your industry.

If people like how you talk on your show, you can likely speak well at live events. You can earn good money from it.

Paid Podcast Subscriptions:

Spotify launched a paid podcast program in 2021 that allows podcasters to charge listeners a monthly subscription fee to access premium tier content through the Anchor App.

The charges range from $7.99, $4.99, and $ 2.99 per month. If you have a good number of followers, you can earn a good amount of money through this platform.

Promoting and selling books

If your show is popular, you can make extra money by leveraging it with advertising and selling books.

You can get reviews from initial sales you make to your listeners to get reviews that will help make your book stand out.

Therefore, you will increase your podcast authority and make money.

Creating and Selling Online Courses

If you are an experienced podcaster with many followers, you can make money by creating online courses teaching content similar to what you talk about on your show.

An online course is the best way of teaching something in a simple and easy-to-follow guide.

You can market your offer through:

•  Promoting it during your podcasts
• Creating a mailing list to reach out to your audience
• Organize a webinar and use it to show your audience the quality you are offering; then, you can present your course at the end of the webinar.

Are There Any Podcast Platforms That Pay Podcasters?

There are a few other platforms that pay podcasters; they include:

1. Google Podcasts
2. YouTube Music
3. Amazon Music
4. Apple Music

Google Podcasts:

Google Podcasts is one of the alternative podcasting platforms to Spotify; it pays artists $0.00554 per stream.

YouTube Music:

YouTube starts paying artists once they achieve 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 views.

YouTube premium charges its users to access up to 60 million songs alongside YouTube videos at a monthly subscription fee of $14.99.

Thus podcasters can get paid from the subscription fees.

Amazon Music:

Amazon Music is another alternative where you can get paid for podcasting at $0.00426 per stream.

Amazon users pay a monthly subscription to gain access to spatial and lossless audio tracks, podcasts, 75 million songs, and playlists.

In Australia, for instance, Amazon Prime customers have limited access to 2 million songs.

Apple Music:

Apple Music pays podcasters around $0.00675 per stream.

Apple has gained market share and now has an android app for its customers who use android devices. They charge users a monthly subscription to support artists.

Final Thoughts:

While most beginner podcasters at Spotify earn very little, podcasting can be a profitable practice if you maintain it.

There isn’t a perfect way of making your show a worthy investment.

However, the best approach is to combine numerous monetization ways, consistently engage your listeners and produce quality content.

Sources:

Loud & Clear: How do artists and songwriters get paid