Spotify is taking its podcast monetization model global. The company is expanding the Spotify Partner Program to more than 35 new markets this fall, including Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Poland and a long list of markets across Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.
The expansion matters because Spotify is no longer treating video podcasts as a US-led experiment. It is building a broader creator business around them, with more ways for shows to earn and fewer interruptions for paying viewers.
More markets, more ways to earn
The Partner Program gives eligible creators access to Premium video revenue, advertising revenue on Spotify’s free tier and monetization across other podcast listening platforms. Creators can also manage and report embedded sponsorships through the program while keeping 100% of that sponsorship revenue.
Spotify says total monthly payouts to enrolled shows have risen by more than a third since the company expanded eligibility earlier this year. Video shows in the program have also seen more than 45% average growth in consumption hours since launch.
Those figures are platform-reported, but they show what Spotify is trying to make visible: podcasting is becoming a more structured business for creators who can turn audience growth into several separate revenue streams.
The platform is selling a better deal to both sides
For Premium subscribers in the newly added markets, participating video podcasts will remove dynamically inserted ads. Creators’ own sponsorships will remain in the show, meaning Spotify is not removing branded content altogether. It is removing one layer of interruption while preserving the sponsorships that creators control.
That is a useful distinction. Spotify is trying to improve the viewing experience without asking creators to choose between audience comfort and commercial sustainability. The platform gets a stronger reason for fans to watch video podcasts inside Spotify, while creators get a clearer pitch for building shows there.
The strategic consequence is straightforward: Spotify is turning video podcast distribution into a larger international monetization system, not simply adding another format to its app. As the program reaches more markets, creators will have more reason to design shows for both listening and viewing, and Spotify will have more leverage over where that creator economy develops.