You create the content. You build the audience. You figure out how to monetize it.
Then somebody else changes the rules.
That's what Spotify and YouTube have both reminded content creators of recently.
Spotify Could Make Your Podcast Ads Skippable
Podnews reports that Spotify has been testing a feature that would allow some users to automatically skip podcast ads.
Here's the part that should make podcasters nervous: Spotify is also selling its own unskippable podcast ads. Meanwhile, its terms give it the right to automatically skip ads sold by other companies.
That's a big deal because Spotify accounts for roughly a quarter of all podcast consumption time in the U.S.
Podcasters have spent years encouraging people to listen on platforms like Spotify. The more successful they've been at building an audience there, the more exposed they are to decisions Spotify makes about how their content gets monetized.
If Spotify makes it easier for listeners to skip their ads, there's not much podcasters can do about it.
YouTube Is Moving the Goalposts, Too
YouTube is changing the way it counts Shorts views, making view counts larger. But when it comes to monetization, YouTube uses a separate measure of "qualified" views.
It's also doubling the number of views new creators need to qualify for full ad and Premium revenue sharing.
Beginning in February, new creators will need 8,000 qualified watch hours in the previous year instead of 4,000 — or 20 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days instead of 10 million.
YouTube decides what counts as a view. It decides which views count toward monetization. And it decides how many of those views you need before you can make money.
You create the content. You attract the audience.
But the platform controls the economics.
The Problem Isn't Content Revenue
There's nothing wrong with earning money from advertising, sponsorships, platform revenue sharing, or other forms of Content Revenue.
The problem is depending on them too heavily.
When somebody else controls your access to the audience, the rules for monetization, and the amount you get paid, your business is vulnerable to decisions you can't control.
That's why creators should be looking to diversify their revenue streams — especially by finding opportunities where they have a more direct relationship with the people they serve.
The question is:
What could that look like for you?
That's what we'll explore in my Beyond Content Workshop.
We'll look at the audience and assets you already have, identify your strongest opportunity to generate revenue beyond content, and figure out your next step.
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