Spotify answers Apple by rolling out its own podcast subscription feature

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Spotify has officially rolled out its paid subscription option for podcasts, just a few days after Apple made the same announcement. The company has been toying with the idea for a while, and as of now, podcasters in the United States can choose to lock some of their content behind a subscription on the Spotify platform. The feature will be expanding to other parts of the world in the coming months.

This new feature is giving all of the power to the creators themselves and gives listeners access to exclusive content on the platform. Podcasters are able to choose exactly what content they would like to be part of a subscription.

Additionally, creators have control over the cost of their subscriptions. The creator sets a price from one of three tiers: $2.99, $4.99, or $7.99 per month.

According to TechCrunch, the first group of Spotify podcasters to adopt this feature is set to begin rolling out exclusive content as early as today. The podcasts show up in a list when searched, just like normal, free podcasts. The difference is that paid content will have a lock over the play button unless you are subscribed to that specific channel.

The podcast battle between Apple and Spotify is heating up

It is pretty ironic that Spotify adopted this new feature today. Apple recently announced that the company is revamping its podcast service, Apple Podcasts, and that also includes a subscription model for some content.

The two companies have been battling for a while over the podcast market, and Spotify has been gaining some ground with massive acquisitions, like Joe Rogan.

Another thing to consider here is how these subscriptions are paid for. The article mentioned above notes that users on iOS are redirected to a website to pay for Spotify’s podcast subscriptions, bypassing the Apple App Store.

As we’ve seen in the past, Apple doesn’t like apps that bypass its App Store, so it will be interesting to see how Apple responds to this. Chances are, the two companies aren’t going to be too friendly with each other in the near future.

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Editors’ Recommendations:

• Joe Rogan’s podcasts are swiftly being removed from Spotify
• Apple Podcasts is getting its biggest update since its launch
• Facebook is working with Spotify to make it easier to share music on the social network
• Apple is investing in a company that focuses on giving musicians full control of their music