Spotify is flashing serious cash in the podcasting arena, signaling an aggressive push into video, but it faces a monumental task in denting the ecosystem dominated by YouTube. The audio giant's latest move escalates the battle for creator and audience attention, particularly as video becomes central to podcasting's future.
A $100M statement: Spotify says it paid out over $100 million globally to podcast publishers and creators in the first quarter of 2025. According to the company, that included both traditional ad-based revenue and earnings from its Spotify Partner Program, which launched earlier this year. Spotify is touting early momentum for the program, citing a 23% month-over-month increase in total earnings for participants from January to February, followed by a 29% jump from February to March, alongside a 28% rise in active monthly video podcasts since the program's debut.
Video battleground: The emphasis on the Partner Program underscores Spotify's strategic focus on video podcasts. The program allows creators to earn revenue based on engagement from Spotify Premium subscribers watching their video content, in addition to traditional advertising routes. Spotify highlighted consumption growth for shows participating in the program, such as Your Mom’s House with Christina P. and Tom Segura, which it said saw weekly consumption rise over 45% since joining. Partners like Goalhanger and FlightStory provided positive testimonials in the announcement, noting audience growth and engagement with video formats.
Chasing the giant: Despite Spotify's investment and reported growth, industry insiders are questioning whether these efforts can significantly challenge YouTube's entrenched position. Digital Music News points out the uphill battle Spotify faces, citing recent Edison Research data indicating YouTube captures one-third of weekly podcast listeners in the U.S., the largest share for any single platform. Furthermore, YouTube previously claimed over one billion monthly active viewers globally consuming podcast content as of January 2025.
YouTube's advantages: YouTube benefits from immense scale and a deep-rooted video infrastructure, recently celebrating its 20th anniversary. The platform's strategic focus has increasingly shifted towards the living room, with CEO Neal Mohan stating earlier this year that TV screens are now the primary viewing device in the U.S., aligning perfectly with the rise of video podcast consumption. This dominance is backed by significant financial power, as parent company Alphabet reported YouTube generated $8.93 billion in advertising revenue in Q1 2025 alone, a 10.3% year-over-year increase.
Advertiser upside: As Spotify intensifies its challenge and YouTube defends its turf, advertisers stand to benefit from the escalating competition. The rivalry is likely to spur further innovation in podcasting features, monetization tools, and audience targeting capabilities on both platforms, potentially making the growing podcast audience more accessible to marketers across various budget levels. Major brands like McDonald’s, Google, and Chelsea FC are already leveraging Spotify's Audience Network via the Partner Program, according to Spotify's release.