Earlier this year, Spotify partnered with the membership platform Patreon, allowing podcasters to publish their subscriber-only premium content on Spotify. The said integration built on the Spotify Open Access platform is now live for all creators after months of testing, the Swedish music streaming service announced today.
Patreon is used by many creators to earn extra income by offering exclusive paid content to their fans. According to its website, the platform had over 260,000 creators onboard at the time of writing. Premiums subscribers of a creator can listen to exclusive content directly on the Patreon app or through their app of choice using RSS feeds.
The integration will allow users to stream Patreon content through the Spotify app by linking their respective accounts. Similarly, creators will also have to link their accounts to put subscriber-only content on Spotify.
After syncing accounts, all Patreon-exclusive episodes will appear on a dedicated page on their Spotify creator profile. Here, episodes will carry identifiers such as a lock icon or a "paid" label. Creators can promote their members-only content using banners and non-subscribers will get pop-ups to become paying members to access premium content.
Spotify Open Access allows its partners to publish podcast content on Spotify and limit its access to those who are their subscribers. The company has been onboarding publishers and third-party services since 2021.
"This [integration] strengthens the direct connection between creators and their most valuable fans. Creators can provide more to their members by offering more listening options. And they’re getting broader exposure to potential fans through Spotify," said Patreon Product Manager Eric Fong in a conversation.
In recent news, Spotify expanded its AI DJ feature to 50 markets across the globe. The streaming service revealed in its Q2 earnings results that the number of its paid subscribers reached 220 million and the monthly active users crossed the 551 million mark. However, this came alongside its intentions of pulling more money out of users" pockets every month.