Connect with us

Net Influencer

Spotify Introduces Milestone Awards For Top Podcasts

Platform

Spotify Introduces Milestone Awards For Top Podcasts

Spotify has launched its first Creator Milestone Awards program, establishing three tiers of recognition for podcasts that reach global streaming thresholds: bronze (100 million streams), silver (250 million streams), and gold (500 million streams). 

“The Joe Rogan Experience” and Audiochuck’s “Crime Junkie” secured the program’s highest honor as the only two podcasts to achieve gold status, surpassing 500 million lifetime streams. 

Four shows reached silver status: “Dateline NBC” with Andrea Canning, “My Favorite Murder,” Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take,” and iHeartPodcasts’ “Stuff You Should Know” with Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant. 

Bronze recognition went to “The Diary of a CEO With Steven Bartlett,” Stephanie Soo’s “Rotten Mango,” Wondery’s “Small Town Murder,” and “Views with David Dobrik & Jason Nash.”

Recipients received hand-delivered commemorative plaques and feature placement in an on-platform hub, with additional promotion through Spotify’s social channels and a marketing campaign at New York City’s Penn Plaza. The program mirrored YouTube’s Play Button awards system, though Spotify opted for quarterly streaming evaluations rather than subscriber milestones.

Jordan Newman, Spotify’s Head of Content Partnerships, said the program recognized “the hustle, creativity, and dedication that make each creator’s story unique.” Since entering the podcast market in 2019, Spotify reports more than 1 billion users have listened to podcasts on the platform.

The company has confirmed it will continue evaluating creators quarterly for future award consideration, with the full roster of qualifying shows on its platform. The recognition will be based on podcasts achieving certain streaming thresholds on Spotify – 100 million streams, 250 million streams, and 500 million streams – and is aimed at setting benchmarks for podcast achievement within the platform. 

The Podcast Battleground

The awards program launched amid platform competition for video podcast creators. 

Recent developments include Alex Cooper’s decision to move her “Call Her Daddy” show and other Unwell network content to YouTube. 

In September 2024, reports emerged that Spotify was offering seven-figure sums to YouTubers to upload videos on its platform without seeking exclusivity or rights acquisition in those deals.

A November 2024 report from Edison Research found that YouTube is outperforming other streaming services in terms of podcasts. “31% of weekly podcast listeners age 13 and up choose YouTube as the service they use most to listen to podcasts, surpassing Spotify (27%) and Apple Podcasts (15%),” analysts noted.

Both have free and paid tiers: Spotify Premium costs $12 monthly, while YouTube Premium costs $14. Each gives users access to ad-free music and downloads for offline playback. Spotify’s paid service also includes 15 hours of audiobooks a month, while YouTube lets customers play videos with their phone screens off.

YouTube pays creators 55% of the ad revenue generated by their videos, while Spotify maintains a 50-50 split.

Nevertheless, Newman noted that Spotify is pursuing a broader goal to empower podcasts to expand their reach and find the right audiences, even if that means embracing its rivals.

“This is not a zero-sum game,” Newman told Business Insider. “There are incremental audiences on all platforms, and even some of the same audiences are consuming in different ways. And so I think if all you’re doing is focused on one platform as a creator, you are not doing it right.”

Avatar photo

Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.

Click to comment

More in Platform

To Top