Spotify Withdraws Ads From White Noise Podcast, Here's Why!

JAKARTA - Spotify decided to withdraw ads from podcasters who run white noise podcasts. The company says they don't make more profits.

White noise is a type of podcast that displays voice content for the relaxation needs of Spotify users with the sound of waves, raindrops, bird tweets and more.

With this new policy, white noise podcasters are no longer eligible for the Spotify Ads Ambassador program starting October 1.

Under Ambassador Ads, the streaming giant pays podcasters to read ads promoting Spotify content.

According to reports, Spotify revealed its budget for white noise podcasters was not spent well, as its playlists often serve as background noise instead of attracting active listeners.

Some white noise podcasters have made $18,000 per month, mostly because Spotify itself paid them for advertising placement.

The reason behind the withdrawal of this program was because they only resulted in an annual decrease in gross profit of 30 million US dollars (Rp455.4 billion).

The company is reluctant to spend its marketing budget to support white noise podcasters through the program.

However, podcasters can still make money on the platform via paid subscribers, listeners' support and automatic advertising that puts third parties on the show.

In addition, Spotify has also raised the Ads Ambassador eligibility threshold where podcasters must have 1,000 unique listeners over 60 days, up from 100 days to participate in the program.

The company also plans to ask more podcasters to join its automated advertising program. Spotify said it would split revenue from the ads to two with podcast operators, switching from the previous approach that paid fixed fares based on broadcasts, as quoted by Engadget and The Verge, Tuesday, September 5.