Spotify says its bet on video podcasting is already delivering results in Australia, with consumption hours nearly doubling year-on-year.
At the heart of that growth, according to Prithi Dey, Head of Podcasts AUNZ at Spotify, is a sharpened focus on creators.
“I’ve been at Spotify for six years, and we’ve had video on Spotify since 2019 I think when we brought Joe Rogan on. So we’ve actually had video as a product on Spotify for a long time,” Dey told Mediaweek. “But the video product was never as robust as it is now.”
“In the last two to three years, we’ve really changed our strategy globally because we want to be a creator platform. We want to be here to support creators, whether they’re audio only or podcasters or video creators, and we want to give audiences the best possible experience when they’re on platform,” she said.
Prithi Dey, Head of Podcasts AUNZ at Spotify
Refocusing the platform
Dey said the shift was an intentional pivot after a period of experimentation.
“We obviously had a big slate of original and exclusive shows, we also music and talk, and we had all these different formats. That’s when we went, hang on a minute, we’re trying to do a lot, instead, let’s really fine-tune and think about what is at our core – the creators and the audience.”
She added that this renewed direction has made the current period her “most favourite era” at Spotify. “It’s putting the power back in the hands of the creators, which is really exciting and empowering for them, but still giving audiences a really great experience.”
Australian market shows strong uptake
New data released to Mediaweek positions Australia as the sixth-largest market for video podcast consumption globally. Hours streamed are up 91.5% year-on-year, while monthly listeners have increased by 66.3%.
The share of creators publishing video podcasts has risen 43%, while the number of listeners watching video has grown by almost 69%. Comedy, business and technology, and news are the most popular categories, alongside true crime.
According to Dey, these trends reflect the local appetite for a blend of global and homegrown content.
“The consumption behaviour of Australians is a mixture of local content and import content. Australians love US content and UK content, which doesn’t surprise me at all. But Australians are very proud as well, and we definitely want to champion and hero local talent and local moments.
“So when we program content on Spotify, we try and make sure it’s a really good blend of import content but also local voices from different backgrounds and genres. Having that balance is definitely giving Australians what they want and need,” Dey said.
Creators seeing tangible results
Independent podcasters are among the biggest beneficiaries. Spotify says Alexis (Do You F*** Mind*), The Relatables, and Bella Fiori’s Mystery Mondays have seen meaningful lifts in both consumption and monetisation.
Internal data shows Mystery Mondays recorded a 40% month-on-month increase in consumption in June, alongside a 45% lift in revenue. The show also topped true crime charts in the US, UK and Australia.
A data-led approach
Dey emphasised that Spotify’s programming decisions are underpinned by analytics. “We have access to so much data. We are constantly, on a global level, looking and reviewing how people are consuming audio and video – how long they’re consuming it, and where they’re consuming it.
“Then locally as well, we spend a lot of time looking at show-level data, audience behaviours, demographics and so on, because it’s really important that we are very familiar with that audience. We need to understand our audience so we can program content and ensure we’re getting the best content in front of them.”