It gets worse. Spotify not only markets to your audience, but they also re-market to them using the data they’ve collected. This means your listeners are targeted repeatedly with ads while Spotify continues to grow its profits. Meanwhile, you, the content creator, receive nothing in return for the data Spotify accumulates from your audience.
It’s important to note that is not actually a problem with Spotify— It’s a problem with any closed platform.
The key is to choose open protocols… like RSS (the format for our podcast show’s feed of all its information,) and the open web (which is the http:// and friends which deliver our media files.)
But if you want to get riled up, go read that article about all the ways Spotify is making serious bank off the backs of podcasters.
I agree with you that Spotify is a vampire but I want to explore what value it still might have.
I debated this with my AI and we agreed that Podcasters should:
treat Spotify as a discovery engine rather than a hosting platform.
move to a paid host that respects the producer’s goals and IP once the producer has built an audience.
We explored what a producer should be doing to exploit “stage 1” using Spotify as a discovery engine, and my AI suggested the following:
"As a new podcaster, getting Spotify to promote your podcast involves optimizing your show for discovery:
Engaging Titles & Descriptions: Craft compelling episode titles and descriptions with relevant keywords to improve visibility in Spotify’s search and recommendation algorithms.
Consistent Release Schedule: Regularly publishing episodes helps you build momentum and signals to Spotify that your show is active and worth promoting.
High-Quality Content: Focus on delivering valuable, high-quality content that encourages listeners to engage, share, and listen through to the end, which boosts your podcast’s ranking in Spotify’s algorithms.
Cross-Promotion: Leverage your existing social media or blog platforms to drive traffic to your Spotify podcast, which can help spike listener activity and increase your chances of being noticed.
Collaborations & Guest Appearances: Feature guests with their own following or collaborate with other podcasters to cross-promote and attract new listeners, increasing your podcast’s chances of being recommended.
Spotify’s promotion is largely algorithm-driven, so by focusing on these aspects, you can improve your chances of being featured in playlists and recommendations."
Nothing particularly novel for the members of this forum!
I’d add that Spotify has removed most of the features that made their podcasting platform a bargain and worth selling our souls. E.g. Free music library, free cover designer, free webpage, ability to record live interviews via phones, editing recordings, and more handy stuff I couldn’t believe when I saw it.
Now it’s a straight deal of free hosting and (perhaps) discoverability in exchange for…your podcast’s soul.
I might still use Spotify! But it would always be as part of a longer term plan to move the show to a paid host if I generated a decent audience.