The Substack show is now available on Spotify. Through this partnership, Substack podcast creators can add Spotify distribution to their shows in just “a few clicks.” Last year, the company scaled back its ambitions for exclusive podcasts in favor of wider distribution, a move that could increase the streamer’s library — including renewing a non-Sign up with noted vaccine enthusiast Joe Rogan. Exclusive contract.
When listening on Spotify, you’ll see a padlock (or “Paid” label, if applicable) next to your Substack podcast. You need to link your Substack account before you can start listening.
Some Substack podcasts are free and you can listen to them immediately after linking your account. For premium shows, you still need to pay on Substack to listen to them on Spotify. (The move isn’t about giving you freebies, it’s about broadening Substack’s audience.) But you don’t need Spotify Premium; Whether you have a free or paid Spotify plan, you can listen to the same Substack content.
Spotify says podcast creators retain full control over their content, subscriber base and revenue. During setup, podcast creators need to select the option to sync with Spotify in their creator account settings. This will immediately make all of their current and future shows available on the streaming platform.
The partnership is built on the Spotify Open Access API, which is available to publishers such as Calm economistFreakonomics Radio, Patreon, nbc dateline and wall street journal It can also be used to tap listeners on music platforms. It’s easy to see the appeal to creators: Spotify reported 602 million monthly active users and 236 million premium subscribers as of the end of 2023.
