Spotify shutting feature that lets podcasters use full licenced music tracks

SAN FRANCISCO: Music streaming giant Spotify has announced its decision to shut down some of its platform’s features in June, including web and mobile recording as well as 'Music + Talk' -- an experimental feature that allowed podcasters to include full licenced music tracks in their podcast episodes.

This comes along with the announcement of Spotify expanding its partnership with Riverside and integrating the popular podcast creation service’s tools into the platform for Podcasters.

"As part of that shift, we are discontinuing our web and mobile native creation tools, including recording and editing tools as well as our ‘Music + Talk’ format, beginning this June," Spotify said in a blogpost.

Introduced in 2020, the feature allows creators to insert licenced, full-length tracks into episodes that run on Spotify.

However, according to Spotify spokesperson Jordan Smith, ‘Music + Talk’ did not have a significant influence outside of the music podcasting niche, reports The Verge.

“’Music + Talk’ was a format we had high hopes for, but after three years of investment, it has not gained meaningful traction with listeners, and remains non-monetizable for creators,” Smith was quoted as saying.

“We believe we’ll make the most impact for creators by continuing to focus on tangible ways they can find and grow an audience and build a sustainable living. While we are always exploring unique formats and solutions for podcasters, we have nothing to share at this time,” he added.

Meanwhile, Spotify has said it now has 236 million premium subscribers, a four per cent increase over the last quarter.

Monthly active users grew 23 per cent (on-year) to 602 million and one million ahead of guidance, the company said while disclosing its Q4 2023 numbers.