Substack‘s podcast library is coming to Spotify. A partnership between the two platforms will allow Substack users to distribute free and gated shows among Spotify listeners.
Spotify announced its partnership with Substack via For The Record, its official blog. The post describes the integration as a flexible option. Podcasters seeking greater reach can make Substack-based shows available on Spotify for free, while creators looking for additional monetization can put up paywalls as they cross-post their shows and episodes.
The Substack integration is powered by Spotify Open Access, the developer tool that allows third-party platforms to integrate audio shows and episodes into Spotify. Open Access has facilitated deals with prominent podcast hubs, including platforms like Patreon that attach paywalls to creator content.
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According to Spotify, platforms can use Open Access to reach more than 600 million listeners. Spotify’s years-long investment in podcasting has catalyzed growth within its audio library. Last December, the platform announced that its creator community has collectively uploaded more than 100,000 video podcasts to date.
The Spotify from Substack service will add popular content to that expanding podcast library. Spotify notes that shows like Rich Text, Split Zone Duo, and Culture Study are now available on its platform for the first time.
“Just about everything I listen to, I listen to on Spotify,” said Split Zone Duo host Alex Kirshner in a statement. “I know I’m one of many. We’re very excited to be able to reach people on a ubiquitous platform and provide an ideal experience for our most important customers: our subscribers.”
Spotify from Substack is one of several tools Spotify is developing to bring more flexibility and monetization to its creator community. Another upcoming product is a take on TikTok’s Remixes that will allow users to create new versions of tracks to fit specific situations. If TikTok trends are any indication, we’re about to see a lot more sped-up versions of songs on Spotify.
