Spotify is introducing a new way for its creators to make money. The streamer announced memberships on Thursday as part of its investor day, an offering that lets eligible creators offer subscriptions filled with exclusive content to their most dedicated fans.
Memberships will let creators earn revenue directly from their fans and will start rolling out later this summer. The goal is to give creators on the platform more direct access to their fans. Creators who manage their subscriptions on other platforms will have the option to continue to distribute their gated content through Spotify Open Access.
Spotify also announced Personal Podcasts, an option where listeners can use AI to generate and schedule short, private audio episodes tailored to their interests and habits. These will appear directly on Spotify. To generate a personal podcast, a user will write a prompt; add context through text, PDFs or links; and then choose a voice. Each episode will be saved to their library and will be able to listen to any time. The option will soon launch in beta mode for Premium Spotify users in the U.S.
As part of the presentation, Spotify also announced a ticket offering that will let an artist’s most dedicated fans purchase up to two tickets through Spotify before the event goes on sale to the general public, new higher-hour add-on tiers for the platform’s audiobook option, Family and Student audiobook plans that will launch later this year and Studio by Spotify Labs. The standalone desktop app will let users create personalized audio based on their Spotify taste across music, podcasts and audiobooks.
“We’re entering the era of Generation, where the experience isn’t just selected from a catalog. It’s shaped by each of our users, in real time, around their taste, context and intent,” Gustav Söderström, co-CEO of Spotify, said. “Today, there is no media player for both public and private content — or put differently — there is no media player for the generative era. We believe Spotify will become that. Another way of thinking about this generative era is that ‘Computers finally understand English.’ This puts infinite creativity and control in the user’s hands.”
“We are not trying to spark a binge. We are trying to become a trusted companion across more moments in people’s lives,” Alex Norström, fellow co-CEO, added. “Those who use all three verticals; music, podcasts and audiobooks, are engaging with Spotify almost everyday of the month.”
