Spotify Wants What YouTube Is Having

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• UK Government to summon Elon Musk to testify about X’s role in UK summer riots.

• The BBC wanted to ask Logan Paul serious questions about his cryptocurrency dealings. Logan Paul sent a lookalike to the interview. 

• TikTok is considering TV-style minidramas.

• Canva released its 2025 Design Trends report with aesthetics such as Opulence Era, Analog Meets AI and Refined Grit.

• “Boy Room,” the viral social media series that takes viewers into men’s horrifyingly messy dwellings, is getting a second season.

More than 250 million people stream video podcasts on Spotify, with the platform's audience for video podcasts skyrocketing by over 60% in the past year.

Last week, we learned that Spotify announced a new “Spotify for Creators” program, introducing a new creator payout model based on a pay-per-view model.

YouTube isn’t shaking in its boots (yet), but this could introduce some competition to the market and benefit creators in the long run.

Let’s take a look at Spotify’s new product offering:

• Beginning in January, Spotify Premium subscribers will no longer have podcasts interrupted by ads.

• Creators can tap into a massive audience of active listeners, with users spending around 40 hours per month on the platform.

• Younger subscribers are even more engaged, averaging closer to 60 hours each month.

• This program is a great opportunity for small—to mid-sized creators who’ve struggled to decode YouTube’s crowded space.

CONCERNS:

• Spotify lacks an algorithmic system similar to YouTube's for promoting video content.

• Creators will struggle to receive the same type of visibility they receive on YouTube.

• You must use Spotify for Creators to host your podcast and have at least 12 episodes available.

• You’ll need more than 2,000 unique listeners and 10,000 hours of streams in the past month—significantly higher than YouTube’s requirement of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours watched per year for its creator monetisation program.

• Splitting your energy across platforms runs the risk of cannibalising your YouTube audience.

The biggest question, though, is what CPM is. Spotify says it’ll “be worth it,” but we’ll wait to see it for ourselves.

Instagram

• is moving Stories Highlights to their own tab.

• now offers an option to reset your recommendations.

• You will no longer be able to follow hashtags on Instagram as of December 13th.

Facebook

• Messager is upgrading with enhanced HD calls, noise suppression, audio/video messaging, AI video call backgrounds, and more.

• now lets users create stories, music, and more on someone else’s stories.

• has added the ability to post Stories exclusively to subscribers.

• now offers Story insights and offers templates.

• introduced a new feature in Stories called “Smart Edit,” which allows users to generate text, music and text styles.

YouTube 

• will let you buy ‘jewels’ to support live creators.

TikTok

• released a "New Year, New Me" playbook timed for Q5, right after the holiday season when social audiences actively seek new deals, trends, and products to kickstart their year.

READ: For some, the idea of watching people sit behind a microphone and talk seems…weird. Yet, it’s a trend that’s rapidly growing. The Wall Street Journal dives into Why Everyone Is Now Watching Podcasts on YouTube, breaking down the appeal for those who just don’t get it.

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