Last Updated on October 28, 2026 by Justin Bryant

Spotify recently announced something that I think could make it an even more formidable competitor to YouTube when it comes to attracting content creators.

In its October 20, 2026 announcement, Spotify introduced an expanded Memberships offering that gives podcast creators another way to earn revenue and connect with fans through exclusive content.

The rollout covers 34 markets. In a lot of ways, the idea is similar to YouTube's channel memberships, but there are a few details that stood out to me.

What Can You Offer With Spotify Memberships?

With Spotify Memberships, you can offer:

  • Exclusive audio or video.
  • Bonus episodes.
  • Fewer ads.
  • Early access.
  • Access to a show's archive.
  • A combination of those benefits.

Fewer ads is an interesting choice. You have a lot of different things you can offer, and creators can package those benefits across multiple tiers and pricing options.

As far as the way the membership itself works, it is very similar to what YouTube does: fans pay for access to additional content or benefits.

Tools to Promote Your Memberships

Spotify also has ways for you to promote this. Its Memberships overview describes tools such as targeted promotions, free trials, and analytics showing what is driving sign-ups.

That gives you a way to look at different offers and see what is driving more memberships than other things.

YouTube does have membership analytics and management tools. But Spotify's combination of promotional tools and membership features is something that stood out to me.

Exportable Member Data and Contact Information

You also have exportable member data, including contact information from fans, which is interesting.

That is, of course, if those fans choose to share it. Spotify describes this as giving creators more control over their relationships with fans on and off the platform.

It is almost like building a little Patreon or email-list type of thing on top of the YouTube-style membership.

They are taking a few different aspects of the main ways content creators build businesses and recurring income and combining them.

Creators Keep 90% of Membership Revenue

Memberships add to the different ways you can monetize a show on Spotify. There is also advertising, sponsorships, and the Spotify Partner Program.

With Memberships, creators can build a recurring revenue stream directly from fans, with Spotify advertising a 90% creator share. The platform fee and applicable taxes are explained below.

They are being very competitive here. Just keep in mind that this is membership revenue from paying fans, not an automatic payout for uploading a podcast or getting views.

Who Qualifies for Spotify Memberships?

Another thing to keep in mind is that the announcement describes eligible shows hosted on Spotify for Creators or Megaphone.

For the Spotify for Creators route, the published requirements include:

  • At least three published episodes.
  • At least 100 listeners or viewers on Spotify in the previous 30 days.
  • At least 100 consumption hours on Spotify in the previous 30 days.

You do have to hit those requirements, and you need to be in a supported market. Previously eligible Podcast Subscriptions shows retain eligibility under Spotify's published transition rules.

At first glance, those numbers may look more accessible than YouTube's requirements. But it is important to compare the same types of monetization: Spotify Memberships and the Spotify Partner Program are separate offerings, just as YouTube's fan-funding access and ad-revenue access have different thresholds.

A Modernized Version of Podcast Subscriptions

The YouTube channel Podnews also covered this, pointing out that Spotify has had podcast subscriptions since 2021.

Subscriptions became available in the U.S. in April 2021 and expanded to 34 countries that November. Podnews described the original product as free initially, with a plan to charge 5%, and the rebranded Memberships offering as having a 10% fee alongside a clearer in-app subscription process, member badges, and different access tiers.

Basically, there have been subscriptions for podcasts in the past. This is a modernized version that Spotify is rolling out, I believe, to compete more directly with platforms such as Patreon and YouTube Memberships.

Spotify Membership Fees and Payouts

According to Spotify's fee schedule, the platform fee is 10% of net earnings. That includes payment processing, foreign exchange, and payout fees. Applicable taxes are deducted separately.

Spotify also has legacy Podcast Subscriptions migrated to Memberships. Those retain a 5.5% payment-processing fee, plus applicable foreign-exchange fees, until the subscriber cancels. That is the legacy arrangement, rather than a rate every creator gets simply for having been on Spotify for a certain length of time.

Payouts are made automatically through Stripe on a rolling 30-day schedule, provided the requirements are met:

  • At least 30 days have passed since you first earned money through Spotify for Creators' or Megaphone's monetization services.
  • You have provided the information requested by Spotify or its payment provider.
  • Your earnings for the payout period total at least $10, or the equivalent in your local currency.

How Does That Compare With YouTube Memberships?

As a comparison, YouTube says creators receive 70% of membership revenue after applicable taxes and fees are deducted. YouTube currently covers transaction costs, including credit-card fees.

To offer channel memberships on YouTube, you need to qualify for fan funding, be accepted into the YouTube Partner Program, and meet the feature's other eligibility requirements.

There is an important distinction here. In eligible countries, earlier fan-funding access can begin at:

  • 500 subscribers and three valid public uploads in the last 90 days, plus either:
  • 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months, or 3 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.

The current 1,000-subscriber threshold, alongside 4,000 qualified watch hours or 10 million qualified Shorts views, concerns additional access to ad and Premium revenue sharing. It is not the minimum for every fan-funding feature.

What Is Changing on YouTube in 2027?

YouTube has announced further changes for February 1, 2027.

New applicants seeking ad and Premium revenue sharing will need 8,000 qualified watch hours in the previous 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the previous 90 days. YouTube says this entry change will not affect creators already in YPP, and fan-funding and Shopping entry thresholds will remain unchanged.

For ongoing Shorts ad and subscription revenue sharing, creators will need 10 million qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days. Channels below that threshold remain in YPP and can continue earning on long-form content; Shorts revenue sharing resumes when they cross the threshold again.

In other words, the requirements are getting tougher for some kinds of YouTube monetization. But those changes should not be confused with losing every way to earn on a channel.

It might be a little easier to qualify for Spotify Memberships once you get some traction. Whether it is easier to build meaningful income is another question: you still need people who want to pay for what you offer.

Why I Think More Creator Competition Is a Good Thing

Either way, I think this is interesting. I think creators need more options.

There needs to be less of a monopoly on creator monetization. I think increased competition from Spotify, the Haven platform, and some of these others could help bring the best out of all of them through healthy competition.