Spotify is ready to let anyone offer video podcasts — and this time, you won't need to apply. As of today, all creators in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand can publish video podcasts through Anchor. You can charge for access using Spotify's podcast subscription system, too. There are also some meaningful upgrades that should help you both produce and watch these podcasts.
Interactive features like polls and Q&A sessions will be available for video podcasts, for starters. Embedded podcasts now play on websites, so you won't have to launch Spotify to view them. Producers can now use Riverside's web-based recording to publish podcasts for free, with Anchor serving as the conduit. You an also replace audio podcasts en masse with their video versions if you have an extensive back catalog.
People in other countries will get to upload video podcasts sometime "in the future," according to Spotify. There are also promises of more ways for creators to make money beyond subscriptions.
The move should help Spotify's video podcast platform reach its full potential. Spotify introduced video podcasts in July 2020, but only for a handful of shows. While the firm technically expanded access to all creators in October 2021, the application requirement still served as a barrier to podcasters who simply wanted to share video editions of their shows. Now, it's just a question of whether or not Spotify is an appealing platform in the first place.