Spotify revises Ambassador Ads Program, excluding 'White-Noise' podcasts to boost profits

Spotify is revising its Ambassador Ads program, which remunerates creators for promoting Spotify content. From October 1st, white noise podcasters, who create content with ambient sounds like rain or static, will no longer be part of the program. The goal is to enhance Spotify's yearly profits by reallocating its advertising budget away from white noise podcasts. I find this news particularly interesting, especially after the partnership between Spotify and Calm.com which was announced a few months ago, a well-known meditation and ambient sounds platform (although this new change by Spotify is more focused on podcasts).

White noise podcast creators can still earn revenue on Spotify through paid subscribers, listener support, and automated ads. The exclusion from the Ambassador Ads program is due to the belief that money used for promoting white noise podcasts was not effectively spent, as these podcasts often function more as background noise rather than actively engaging listeners.

Changes to the Ambassador Ads program also include an increase in the audience requirement for traditional podcasters to participate, from 100 to 1,000 unique Spotify listeners in the last 60 days. The streaming platform intends to include more podcast hosts in its Automated Ads program, offering a 50% revenue split. With the recent announcement of the partnership with Patreon to host Subscriber-Only podcasts, the company's expectations continue to be focused on finding a new approach in podcasts, rather than traditional music streaming.