Stripe, a global technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet, has partnered with Spotify to help podcasters accept payments, launch recurring revenue streams, and deepen their connection with fans.
Spotify’s mission is to unlock the power of human creativity—by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it. As the world’s most popular audio streaming service, Spotify recently launched Podcast Subscriptions, a service that allows podcasters to offer paid monthly content.
Stripe’s own analysis shows that creators on just 50 Stripe-powered platforms have earned nearly $10 billion in revenue, while the popularity of longform storytelling has skyrocketed.
Michael Mignano, Global Head of Talk Verticals, Spotify, said: “Spotify Podcast Subscriptions make it easy for creators to establish and manage an important new revenue stream and for listeners to seamlessly subscribe to content that they enjoy. Stripe shared our passion for this feature; their technology and ability to collaborate at speed helped enable the launch of Podcast Subscriptions in 2021, connecting creators and listeners across the world.”
Stripe provided the payment infrastructure for Podcast Subscriptions, enabling Spotify to expand the feature to support dozens of currencies for thousands of creators across 30+ countries.
With Stripe, creators can accept payments from fans anywhere in the world, in their preferred currency. A podcaster in Paris, France, for example, can now receive their payouts in Euros, even if their fans are paying for their monthly subscriptions in dollars from Hong Kong, in kroner from Denmark, and in francs from Switzerland.
Accelerating global podcast subscriptions
Spotify was able to streamline both payment acceptance and identity verification for its podcasters by using Stripe Connect. When new podcasters sign up with Spotify, Stripe handles the onboarding requirements for them to get paid.
In partnering with Stripe to launch Podcast Subscriptions, Spotify has also used a number of other Stripe products including Stripe Billing, Stripe Invoicing, and Stripe Radar.
“Platforms like Spotify are making it easier for creators to quickly generate recurring revenue from the thing they love doing the most: sharing their stories,” said Mike Clayville, Chief Revenue Officer at Stripe. “We’re thrilled to help Spotify accelerate the growth of the creator economy. And personally, I’m excited to subscribe to some new podcasts!”