Spotify Considers Cutting ‘White Noise’ Podcasts to Cut Costs
According to Bloomberg, Spotify attempted to sever ties with the creators of the popular White Noise podcast due to their significant earnings. An internal document revealed that these podcasts, featuring soothing sounds like waves and fans, were being consumed for a total of 3 million hours daily on the platform. This surge in popularity was unintentionally facilitated by Spotify’s algorithm, which aimed to establish itself as the leading podcast app.
Previously, Bloomberg reported that white noise podcasters were making $18,000 a month. Many creators on the platform, not just white noise broadcasters, use Spotify’s free hosting software Anchor to publish their shows. Anchor was acquired by Spotify in 2019, and in addition to helping creators make and distribute podcasts, it can also monetize their content.
While the white noise podcasts proved to be a hit with listeners, they apparently don’t generate as much money for Spotify as other types of programming. The company is said to have considered removing them completely and blocking future uploads to that category. In addition, it thought to change its algorithm to recommend “comparable programming” that is more favorable to Spotify. Doing all this would increase the company’s annual gross income by $38 million. The news organization did not say whether Spotify clarified what it meant by “comparable programming” in the internal document, but they could be other types of content aimed at inducing and improving sleep and helping calm anxiety. white noise is typically used.
A thread posted on the Spotify subreddit a couple of months ago shows several users complaining that the white noise podcasts they were listening to had disappeared. Bloomberg also spoke with a content creator who said their content was missing for a few weeks before it was restored. Spotify did not confirm whether it temporarily removed white noise podcasts from its service, but it told the news organization that ultimately “[the proposal in question did not materialize” and that it still has “white noise podcasts” from [its] beginning.
