Spotify Considered Removing White Noise Podcasts From Its Platform

pcmag.com:

Spotify reportedly considered removing white noise podcasts from its platform.

According to internal documents obtained by Bloomberg, as of January white noise and ambient podcasters accounted for roughly 3 million hours of listening on Spotify every single day.

While certainly a ton of listening hours, that may not seem like a big deal until you realize that those same podcasters, who are broadcasting shows that are essentially the same sound on repeat, could earn upwards of $18,000 a month from the ads Spotify placed within the programming.

Adding to the issue is that Spotify inadvertently promoted this content through its attempts to push listeners to “talk” content over music. So it was actively driving listeners to the podcasts.

According to the internal documents, once Spotify discovered the issue, the platform considered removing the shows from the talk feed and prohibiting future uploads of the programs, and instead pushing listeners toward content that is more profitable for Spotify. Had they done so, Spotify could have reportedly increased its annual gross profits by $38 million.

While the proposal never came to fruition, Bloomberg notes that white noise podcasts have “vanished” from some users' accounts, and one podcaster noted that several of their episodes have gone missing for weeks at a time, cutting into potential downloads.

Instead of getting rid of white noise, the platform did opt to raise prices earlier this year to increase profits.

In July, Spotify raised the price of its Premium accounts across the board, bringing the price of its standalone premium account to $10.99 a month. At the time, the company said that the increase was "so that we can keep innovating [and] will help us continue to deliver