Spotify’s payouts to creators and podcasters reached $100 million in Q1 2025 alone

Spotify‘s revamped partner program is only a few months old, but its first full quarter of activity produced encouraging results. In a post on its For the Record blog, the audiovisual platform noted that its payouts to creators (including podcasters) topped $100 million during the first three months of 2025.

The nine-digit figure includes earnings from the Spotify Partner Program as well as ad revenue. Spotify boasted that its multifaceted toolkit allows creators to reach a “global audience” while giving them “flexible earnings options” that can help them “capture and engage a loyal fanbase.”

Those earnings have been supercharged thanks to the Spotify Partner Program, which kicked off at the start of the year. One month after the Partner Program’s launch, Spotify was already cheering the strong returns the revenue stream had delivered. According to one estimate, Spotify video consumption rose by 20% over the first 30 days of Partner Program activity.

Per Spotify’s latest For the Record update, the Partner Program is continuing to pay dividends. The number of participating creators rose 29% month-over-month between February and March, and the number of active monthly video podcasts has gone up 28% since the Program’s start date.

Like on other platforms, podcasters are set up to benefit the most from the expansion of Spotify’s revenue streams. The blog post included testimonials from the creators behind Goalhanger and FlightStory, two shows that have benefitted from Partner Program adoption.

“Since we added video to our shows on Spotify, we’ve been delighted by the growth we’ve seen across the Goalhanger network,” said Goalhanger co-founder Tony Pastor in a statement. “It’s clear that our audiences love watching their favourite hosts and we’re really encouraged by the engagement levels we’ve seen so far.”

The Spotify Partner Program hasn’t been immune to criticism. Some publishers have argued that the system has lost them money, with creator Amanda McLoughlin arguing that “the risk just isn’t worth it.” The duality of the Partner Program is reminiscent of the hurdles Snapchat went through when it started paying its stars for posts on its Spotlight hub.

To build a Partner Program up to $100 million in three months is an impressive feat, even if Spotify has hit some bumps along the way. Right now, the Partner Program is only available in select markets, so Spotify has room to growth if it wants to continue the global expansion of its hot new product.