Spotify just opened up a new stream of revenue for podcasters. That is, if they’re uploading video.
What was once an audio-first medium, podcasting is now increasingly filmed and produced. That started on YouTube, which is now racking up one billion podcast viewers a month. While Spotify has hosted podcasts for a decade now, the company is suddenly racing to stay competitive, rolling out new features and monetization tools. That includes their Partner Program, which allows podcasters to earn money directly from the streams of premium subscribers, so long as they’re using a video aspect.
“We decided to focus on video because that’s where we see a lot of audiences and creators trending,” says Jordan Newman, Spotify’s senior director of content partnerships. “We felt like it was something that we really wanted to encourage and incentivize our platform.”
To find out how podcasters feel about the app’s video push, Fast Company spoke with creators on both sides of the aisle—those who have embraced video, and those who have stayed audio-only.
The cost-benefit analysis of video podcasting
For many podcasters, the shift to video is a financial and logistical leap. Producing a high-quality video podcast requires more than just a microphone—it demands cameras, lighting, editing software, and often a dedicated set. That investment pays off for some, but for others, it adds a new layer of complexity to an already time-consuming medium.
Chris Williamson knows this trade-off well. As the host of Modern Wisdom, one of Spotify’s most popular self-improvement podcasts, he’s built a reputation not just for insightful conversations with guests like Andrew Huberman and Steven Bartlett but also for stunning visual production.
Yet Modern Wisdom wasn’t always a cinematic experience. In its early days, the show was audio-only, with a basic equalizer graphic on YouTube. Fifty episodes in, Williamson started recording his Skype interviews. A hundred episodes later, he upgraded to professional-quality video. Now, he rents what he estimates is “a quarter of a million dollars”-worth of camera equipment for each shoot.
So far, it’s paid off handsomely. Thanks to his polished, production-heavy style, advertisers flock to Modern Wisdom, and Spotify’s expansion into video has further boosted his revenue. Once his full back catalog is uploaded, Williamson expects to earn as much—if not more—from Spotify as he does from YouTube.
“I think we’ve kind of gained a reputation in the world of cinematography and production and making a very beautiful podcast, and that makes me feel good,” Williamson says. “It’s not just something that is legitimate in terms of its content, but also in terms of its delivery and its packaging.”
While most podcasters don’t operate on Williamson’s scale, video remains for all a big investment. Among the seven podcasters interviewed for this piece, nearly all cited increased costs—both financial and labor-related—as a major consideration.
For independent creators, these costs fall directly on their shoulders. For those backed by major podcast networks, the burden is often shared. Diallo Riddle and Blake “LUXXURY” Robin, co-hosts of the music podcast One Song, were caught off guard when their network, Hartbeat, insisted on a video format. (Riddle jokes that, if he had known, he would have demanded they “pay for hair and makeup.”) But they have come to see the move as a fortuitous one.
“By now, recording both has become the default,” Robin says. “Part of what podcasting is as a medium, I’ve only learned as we’ve done it, is that parasocial relationship. Getting to know the people, I think it helps when you see them.”
The audio/video balancing act
The biggest challenge? Making a show work seamlessly for both audiences. Some podcasts are visually stunning but incoherent in audio form; others treat video as an afterthought. The result is a growing divide in audience experiences.
The hosts of Petty Crimes, which is also produced by Hartbeat, have been thinking about this drop-off in experience. Griff Stark-Ennis films in Los Angeles, where he’s surrounded by cameras, making it easy to “play into the visual aspect and sometimes forget the audio.” Ceara Jane O’Sullivan, who records simultaneously in New York, positions herself as a check on that impulse.
“When we are reviewing episodes back, I always listen to the transcript audio-only,” O’Sullivan says. “You have to present your audio episode and present your video episode as if that is the assumed and correct audience. You never want anyone to feel like they’re being shorted or ignored in either medium.”
No matter the issues—scaling costs, getting camera-ready, or remembering the audio listener—all of these podcasters were happy with their video ventures. They’ve all seen the audience widening that video has allowed them, something that Spotify’s Newman emphasized. “Shows with video are growing faster than audio shows right now,” he says.
What becomes of the audio-only podcasters?
Podcasting started as an audio-only medium—and many creators are sticking to that. In 2023, 32% of podcasters said they had “no plans” to record video, per the IndiePod Census. These creators are barred from that premium revenue stream on Spotify, though they still can earn money from ads. But video isn’t the be all end all; after all, only 30% of audiences are actively watching their podcasts, per Cumulus Media. And some podcasters have other priorities.
“Video adds a layer of technical complication,” says Perry Romanowski, co-host of The Beauty Brains. “When I want to do a show, my partner and I hop on a zoom call and we record locally on both of our machines. Neither of us has to take showers and get gussied up. It’s just a lot easier.”
Others film some video, but don’t upload it to Spotify. Gibson Johns films the interviews for his show Gabbing With Gib and uploads them to YouTube. But, to fashion these interviews into a podcast form, he records audio-only introductions and uploads the audio alone to Spotify.
“I’m solid for now,” he says. “As far as I’m aware, there’s not a way on Spotify to upload a portion of your episode as a video.”
Still, Johns is happy with Spotify’s creator experience; he earns the bulk of his money through their advertising. While Romanowski earns his money through Patreon, he’s content with Spotify, too. Neither haven’t felt the encroachment of video hurting their business.
Podcasters now are at an inflection point. They must choose: To film or not to film. That choice isn’t just about preference—it’s about costs, and adapting to an industry radically reformed by video.
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