Once you’re video-enabled, you will have the opportunity to monetize that content through your own direct sales as well as the Spotify Partner Program, which is a monetization program where you can unlock consumption based video revenue monetization on Spotify in addition to ads revenue generated by the Spotify Audience Network. Learn more about each monetization opportunity below.

Spotify Partner Program

The Spotify Partner Program is a new video monetization program that enables eligible publishers to earn two types of revenue from Spotify depending on who streams their video content: ads revenue from the Spotify Audience Network and Premium video revenue. It is designed to allow publishers to build a diversified revenue model with minimal effort. With the Spotify Partner Program monetization program, you can earn from multiple revenue streams depending on the types of content you publish and who streams that content: Ad revenue & premium video revenue

Ad revenue

Publishers can continue to earn every time an ad from the Spotify Audience Network plays in their remaining designated ad inventory — both on Spotify and across other podcast players. The Spotify Audience Network continues to operate by inserting ads into publisher-inserted ad breaks. For video episodesIf you are video-enabled, ads will only be inserted for Spotify Free users, users in non-SPP markets, and users listening on other platforms.

Premium video revenue

When Spotify Premium members in select markets* stream video episodes, Spotify serves that content to them without dynamic ads, to make sure they have an uninterrupted viewing experience. And for those streams, instead of earning ad revenue, you earn based on how much the video content is streamed.

Listeners who are not Spotify Premium members in these markets, or fans who stream any non-video episodes published on or off-Spotify, will still be able to stream your episodes with ads, and you can continue to earn revenue for any ads that play on those episodes.

In order for a video episode to qualify for Premium video revenue, you must insert one or more ad locations that can be filled by the Spotify Audience Network in the episode. You are unable to earn Premium video revenue for any video episodes without ad locationsbreaks.

Premium video revenue is calculated in accordance with our proprietary payment formula, which may be adjusted by us from time to time, and which are based on a number of factors. These factors may include the total amount of qualifying consumption time attributable to your eligible video episodes, the registration market of Spotify Premium users consuming your eligible video episodes, the unique number of Spotify Premium users with access to or consuming an uninterrupted video experience, and the overall amount of eligible video content consumed by Spotify Premium users in these markets*.

*Premium Video Revenue markets

Premium video revenue is currently only available in the following markets, which may change from time to time:

These markets may change from time to time. For more information on Spotify Partner Program monetization policies please see our article.

How to opt into the Spotify Partner Program

Select “monetization” in the left navigation and click the “submit” button for the podcast you’d like to enroll for both video and Spotify Partner Program access. If the selected show was previously submitted to the “Spotify Audience Network,” you do not need to complete this step.

In order to receive payments from Spotify, you will need to join Graphite, a supplier platform that will help facilitate your payments. You will receive an email from them directly with instructions on how to onboard onto their platform.

US publishers will be asked to submit a W-9 tax form and non-US publishers will be asked to submit a W-8 tax form. If you’re already a Graphite user, an extension will be added to your profile so you can input the appropriate banking and tax information.

In addition to the Spotify Partner Program, you can also continue to work directly with advertiser partners to monetize both your video and audio content. Megaphone supports two ways to insert direct-sold ads into your content: Baked-In Sponsorships & Dynamically Inserted

Stitch in direct-sold host-read sponsorships into your video file before you upload your video. This type of ad is viewable by all users on all platforms, including Spotify Premium. You’ll be able to mark where your baked-in ads are in the ad locator so you have a comprehensive view of where ads are present in your content. Baked-in sponsorships will be delivered to everyone on Spotify regardless of their subscription status or registration market.

If you are baking in direct- sold sponsorships into your video episodes, you have the option to remove and also replace them for audio RSS downloads off of Spotify.

Remove: In the Ad Locator tool, first select the length of your baked-in sponsorship in the waveform. Click “Remove”

The removed segment will not play on non-Spotify platforms, with no changes to the video version on Spotify.

Replace: After first selecting the length of audio and clicking “Remove,” you can then click “Replace with Mid-Roll” to automatically insert a dynamic mid-roll ad marker at the start of the removed segment.

The removed segment will not play on non-Spotify platforms, and instead will be eligible to be filled with a dynamically inserted ad, with no changes to the video version on Spotify.

Tip: If you are using the replace tool, still consider inserting at least one additional ad location that could be filled by the Spotify Audience Network or other direct sold campaigns to potentially reach more audiences from plays on Spotify. The video version on Spotify will still play the baked-in sponsorship segment and not deliver dynamically inserted ads in the ad location added by using the replacement tool.

In addition to baked-in sponsorships, you can also use Megaphone’s sophisticated campaign management tools to dynamically insert ads not only in your audio episodes but also in video episodes streamed on Spotify by Spotify Free users in all markets and Spotify Premium users in markets outside of the Spotify Partner Program.

Booking campaigns across video and audio inventory is simple as the workflow remains the same across both formats. Check out our step-by-step article on how to create a campaign.

Publishers who have joined Megaphone’s video program receive a monthly report in the Megaphone platform that shows how much their organization has earned from the Spotify Partner Program.

For more information on what is included in the monthly report, please see our article.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is the Spotify Audience Network a part of the Spotify Partner Program?

Yes. The Spotify Partner Program can enable monetization of your video content with both ad revenue from the Spotify Audience Network and Premium video revenue. The Spotify Audience Network can continue to fill unsold ad inventory in your monetized audio episodes and, if you join the program, your monetized video episodes except on Spotify Premium in the markets where the Spotify Partner Program is available*. You can continue to earn when Spotify Audience Network ads are delivered in your eligible episodes on Spotify and across other podcast players. However, you are not required to join the Spotify Partner Program in order to access ads via the Spotify Audience Network for audio episodes only.

Q. Do I need to be opted into the Spotify Audience Network to participate in the Spotify Partner Program?

Yes. In order for a video episode to be eligible for monetization under the Spotify Partner Program, it must be submitted and approved for monetization with ad revenue from the Spotify Audience Network and Premium video revenue, and the episode must include one or more ad locationsbreaks. If you participate in the Spotify Partner Program from a market where the program is available*, any shows currently approved for the Spotify Audience Network are eligible for monetization under this new program, as long as they abide by our program policies <link>. Eligibility criteria may change at any time.

Q. How much will I earn if I’m part of the Spotify Partner Program?

Publishers can earn revenue for advertising monetized by the Spotify Audience Network in accordance with their agreement with Spotify. However, when Spotify Premium members in select markets* stream video episodes, we’ll deliver them without dynamic ads for an uninterrupted viewing experience. For these streams, depending on where the publisher is based, instead of earning ad revenue, they may earn Premium video revenue.

Earnings for both ad revenue and any Premium video revenue will be subject to any transactional fees and taxes. By opting in to the program, withholding taxes may apply over all revenue payable for audio and video content consumed in the U.S., even if you later opt out of the program. For example, for publishers in Australia, a reduced rate of withholding at 5% will be applied to any U.S. sourced earnings if valid tax documentation is obtained. In other markets, withholding tax rates can be reduced to 0% when valid tax documentation is obtained. There are currently no transactional fees.

Publishers can keep all the revenue from their deals for baked-in host reads within their episodes.

Q. How is premium video revenue calculated?

Premium video revenue is calculated in accordance with our proprietary payment formula, which may be adjusted by us from time to time, and which is based on a number of factors. These factors may include the total amount of qualifying consumption time attributable to your eligible video episodes, the registration market of Spotify Premium users consuming your eligible video episodes, the unique number of Spotify Premium users with access to or consuming an uninterrupted video experience, and the overall amount of eligible video content consumed by Spotify Premium users in the markets where the Spotify Partner Program is available*.

Q. Will the ads from the Spotify Audience Network play beyond Spotify?

Yes, ads from the Spotify Audience Network can play on and beyond Spotify. Within video-enabled shows, ads served to fans on Spotify will be delivered via Spotify's proprietary Streaming Ad Insertion technology, which enables precise and transparent podcast advertising.

Q. Will the ads from the Spotify Partner Program play in other markets?

Listeners in countries where the Spotify Audience Network is enabled may hear ads on your show wherever you insert ad breaks, except in video-enabled content on Spotify Premium in the markets where the Spotify Partner Program is available*.

Q. How are my ads delivered for video-enabled shows?

When a show becomes video-enabled, all dynamic ads delivered on Spotify will be delivered by Spotify’s proprietary technology called Streaming Ad Insertion (“SAI”) instead of DAI. This will apply to a show’s video episodes and audio episodes. For baked-in sponsorships, ads should be included when uploading the video onto Spotify.

Q.What do I need to do to start earning from the Spotify Partner Program?

Once you have accepted the terms, you will receive an invitation to join Graphite, a supplier platform that will help facilitate your payments. During the Graphite onboarding process, US publishers will be asked to submit a W-9 tax form and non-US publishers will be asked to submit a W-8 tax form. If you’re already a Graphite user, an extension will be added to your Graphite profile so you can input the appropriate banking and tax information. Once the necessary details have been input onto Graphite, your show can start earning from the program so long as there is at least one episode published and ad breaks have been added to the episode. You will continue to be notified of your earnings through your monthly partner statement delivered by Spotify.

Q. What third-party ad reach/resonance/lift/attribution solutions will work with SAI ads?