Spotify launched a new interactive feature, “Podcast Comments,” on Tuesday, expanding the ways podcast listeners can engage with hosts. The addition allows listeners to leave comments on episode pages that support the commenting feature, making them feel more like part of a community. Additionally, creators will now be able to “like” and reply to listener comments, and still have control over which comments appear on their page.
The feature puts Spotify in more direct competition with YouTube as a place for creators to interact with listeners, and follows the company's foray into video podcasts, which it will begin testing in 2021 and roll out more broadly in 2022. This year, Spotify broadened its scope again to include video support for non-hosted podcasters.
According to the company, there are currently more than 250,000 video podcasts available on the platform. This year alone, 9 million Spotify listeners have participated in one of the interactive features designed for podcasts, such as polls or Q&As introduced in 2021. This figure represents an 80% increase from last year.
By supporting comments for podcasts, Spotify hopes to give creators more ways to build their communities, leading to retained listener bases and increased podcast consumption.
Image credit: Spotify
According to the company's internal data, listeners who use Spotify's interactive features are nearly four times more likely to listen to a show again within 30 days, and they also listen to podcasts on average twice as often as listeners who don't use these features.
With over 70% of podcast listeners saying they want more ways to interact with their favorite hosts, comments add a new type of interactivity for active listeners to participate in.
However, the feature itself is optional for podcast hosts.
“We're taking this very slowly and very cautiously,” said Maya Prohovnik, vice president of podcast products, who joined the company through the Anchor acquisition. “We think it's really important to strike a balance between creative expression and keeping people safe and making sure quality conversations are happening.”
Image credit: Spotify
The feature will be gradually rolling out on the consumer side (podcasts that have opted in to display comments on their page) starting this week, and over the next month, the commenting option will be expanded to all Spotify users.
However, creators who choose to allow comments are in control of the experience: they can enable or disable commenting on a per-episode basis and approve which comments are allowed.
Creators can also like and reply to comments, receive notifications when new comments are added or milestones are reached, and access additional audience insights and analytics through the Spotify for Podcasters app, now available to both hosted and non-hosted creators.
“We want to work with creators to iterate based on their feedback, [Spotify is] “We're trying to emphasize creative control and empowering creators to choose what appears alongside their content,” Prohovnick said.
Image credit: Spotify
Of course, approving each comment one by one is time-consuming, so Spotify has begun testing other options to let comments flow more freely, while still putting in guardrails. The company says it's already testing a system that lets comments scale to creators without the hassle of manual moderation.
Currently, creators can block commenters, and Spotify automatically checks comments that violate its policies.
The commenting feature was in beta testing prior to this release, but Spotify says the positive feedback has led to the option being made public now. Creators who previously added support for polls or Q&As will be the first to have the option to enable comments.
Image credit: Spotify
The launch comes as Spotify's podcasting strategy shifts from investing heavily in exclusive content to one in which the company acts as a platform for all podcasters, including those who stream their shows over video, which Prohovnik said has allowed the company to make money from podcasts.
While the new feature won't have any immediate monetization potential, Prohovnik said Spotify is working on ways to identify a show's biggest fans in the comments section. The company didn't state any specific plans to offer paid fan badges like YouTube offers with Super Chats and Super Stickers, but it seems like a logical next step for streamers.
Meanwhile, comments can engage Spotify users through push notifications, bringing listeners back to the app and engaging with the social networking element even when they’re not actively streaming.
“Just like with video podcasts, the need is clear: people want deeper engagement on Spotify, and that's really our goal,” Prohovnick said.
Updated at 9:05 a.m. ET to clarify that commenting is optional, but creators can opt out.