MEDIAGPT · ENTERTAINMENT TECH ANALYSIS
Spotify opens paid podcast Memberships in 34 markets for a 10% fee
Instagram tests 90-minute videos and lands on Apple TV, but shares no ad revenue
Spotify launched paid podcast Memberships in 34 markets on Oct. 20, taking a 10% fee. Instagram began testing 90-minute Features videos on Oct. 26 and added Apple TV, with no ad-revenue share. YouTube took 15.8% of U.S. TV viewing in August. Korea is not a Spotify launch market.
Spotify and Instagram rolled out new creator pay and video policies within a week of each other. Spotify on Oct. 20 launched paid podcast Memberships in 34 markets, including the U.S., the U.K. and Canada. Instagram on Oct. 26 began testing Features, horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long, and brought its TV app to Apple TV. Both moves target the long-form, TV and paid-membership business led by YouTube.
Spotify takes a 10% fee on the monthly or annual fees fans pay for bonus episodes, ad-free episodes and early access. Instagram has no program to share ad revenue with creators. An Instagram spokesperson told Variety it is "too early to share a long-term monetization model."
YouTube took a record 15.8% of U.S. TV viewing in August, according to Nielsen data released Oct. 22, ahead of No. 2 Netflix at 7.7%. YouTube has paid creators, artists and media companies more than $100 billion over four years and gives creators 55% of long-form ad revenue. Spotify began sharing ad and subscription revenue with podcasters last year and paid out more than $100 million in the first quarter. On $1,000 in fan payments, creators keep $900 on Spotify and up to $700 on YouTube channel memberships, according to Built by Foundry.
South Korea is not among Spotify's 34 launch markets, and Korean video podcasts are distributed mostly on YouTube. Korean broadcast advertising fell 12.3% last year to 2.01 trillion won ($1.52 billion), and terrestrial broadcasters posted a third straight operating loss. Korean broadcasters and creators currently rely mainly on YouTube channel memberships, which carry a 30% fee.
Graphic: K-EnterTech Hub
Creator terms by platform. Sources: company announcements, Variety, Built by Foundry, Nielsen.
Spotify Memberships: 10% fee, 100-listener minimum
Spotify previewed Memberships at its Investor Day in New York on May 21. Its older Podcast Subscriptions product converted to Memberships on Oct. 20. Creators can set multiple tiers and prices and run free trials and promotions. Free and Premium users can join from a show's page.
To qualify, a show must be hosted on Spotify for Creators or Megaphone, which Spotify acquired in 2020, and post three episodes, 100 listeners and 100 listening hours in 30 days. The listener bar is a tenth of the U.S. Partner Program's 1,000. The 10% fee includes payment processing, currency conversion and payout costs, Built by Foundry found in a review of Spotify's fee schedule. Member data is exportable; email addresses come only from members who opt in.
Jordan Newman, Spotify's head of content partnerships, told The Ankler's Like & Subscribe newsletter that Memberships are designed "to help creators build sustainable businesses." Spotify had 300 million paying subscribers as of its second-quarter report in August. "If anyone can offer sophisticated subscription services to creators, it should be us," Newman said.
Absher adds $4.99 tier; YMH puts 12 shows behind early access
Morgan Absher, host of comedy podcast Two Hot Takes, has nearly 1 million Spotify followers. She started a Patreon membership three years ago and said it is now "a big part" of her podcast income. On Spotify, she is offering a monthly bonus episode for $4.99. She will keep Patreon and add a $19.99 bundle there. Absher said she would consider 1% of her Spotify followers signing up a success.
Tom Segura's YMH Studios is adding memberships to 12 shows, including Your Mom's House, most priced at $4.99 a month for early, ad-free episodes. Alan Abdine, general manager of YMH's podcast network, said the product lets the company "stress-test some different ideas that we have without necessarily coming across as a money grab." "People who are superfans love to be the first to hear an episode," he said. Abdine said Spotify's partner program quadrupled YMH's revenue on the platform.
Using each company's published rates, Built by Foundry calculated creator take-home on 200 members paying $5 a month: $900 on Spotify, $810.75 on Patreon's standard plan, up to $700 on YouTube channel memberships and $700 in year one on Apple Podcasts Subscriptions. Apple has sold podcast subscriptions since 2021 and lowers its fee from 30% to 15% after a subscriber's first year.
Creator take-home before taxes on 200 members paying $5 a month. Source: Built by Foundry, using each company's published rates as of Oct. 20.
Instagram Features: up to 90 minutes, eight Reels per video
Instagram head Adam Mosseri and VP of product Tessa Lyons announced the features in a video posted Oct. 26. Features is a horizontal format for podcasts, vlogs, interviews and episodes, with length caps under test up to 90 minutes. The test, previously limited to some creators in Brazil, now includes a small U.S. group. Up to eight clips posted as Reels can link to one long video. Series, a profile home for episodic Reels, expands to more countries through year-end, and Live will surface to non-followers in the Reels tab.
"I have been against doing long-form video on the platform for a long time," Mosseri said, citing concerns that long viewing cuts into Reels and photos shared with friends. Instagram launched long-video app IGTV in 2018 and shut it in 2022. Mosseri said Instagram will now lean into long-form video, including on TVs. "We think the best viewing experience for long-form horizontal content is on a big horizontal screen," Lyons said, according to Mediaweek.
Instagram's TV app launched on Amazon Fire TV in the U.S. in December 2025 and later added Google TV and Samsung. Apple TV is now included. A phone-as-remote feature and the ability to save Series and Features on mobile for later TV viewing are coming soon.
Instagram: "too early" for a pay model
An Instagram spokesperson told Variety the company is funding long-form content "directly with some creators right now." Instagram is exploring ways for creators to earn from brands, fans and the platform, including performance-based incentives. Lyons said creators with existing brand deals can bring them to Features.
YouTube's Partner Program pays creators 55% of long-form ad revenue and 70% of channel-membership revenue. Pay for Instagram Features creators is currently set deal by deal.
YouTube's share of U.S. TV viewing. Source: Nielsen, The Gauge.
Korea left off Spotify's launch list
Spotify's 34 launch markets include the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most of Europe, and Hong Kong and Singapore. South Korea and Japan are not included. Korean creators and broadcasters cannot sell memberships on Spotify.
Korean conversation shows grew as video podcasts on YouTube rather than on dedicated podcast apps, Dailian (데일리안) reported in March. Moneygraphy (머니그라피), run by Toss (토스), has about 610,000 subscribers. Spotify agreed on March 6 to open an official video podcast channel with HYBE (하이브), Dailian reported.
The top 100 channels in Forbes Korea (포브스코리아)'s 2026 Power YouTuber ranking earned an estimated 261.86 billion won ($198 million), up 18.6% year over year. The top 10 accounted for 48.6%. Forbes Korea said top creators earn from memberships, branded content and commerce in addition to ads.
Korean broadcast ad sales down 12.3%; terrestrial losses for third year
Broadcast ad revenue in Korea fell 12.3% to 2.01 trillion won ($1.52 billion) in 2025, the Korea Communications and Media Commission (방송미디어통신위원회) said June 19. Terrestrial ad sales dropped 17% to 693.6 billion won ($524 million), and terrestrial broadcasters posted an operating loss of 117.4 billion won ($89 million), their third straight. The commission said mobile advertising grew 7.5% a year from 2021 to 2025 while broadcast ad revenue fell 10.6% a year.
Korean broadcast ad revenue, 2024-25. Source: Korea Communications and Media Commission (방송미디어통신위원회).
Korean broadcasters distribute radio and news programs as podcasts. MBC's Economy at Hand (손에 잡히는 경제) ranked near the top of Apple Podcasts' Korea chart as of Oct. 3. YMH's membership product is early, ad-free access; a broadcaster offering the same would need to adjust free-release timing and existing ad-sales contracts.
YouTube channel memberships, with a 30% fee, are the main paid-membership tool available in Korea. Spotify's 10% fee applies only once Korea is added as a market. Instagram Features carries no ad share, so long videos posted there by broadcasters generate no ad revenue.
Apple plans video subscriptions; Instagram pay model still open
Apple said in September it would add video to Apple Podcasts Subscriptions but set no launch date, PlayPodcast reported. Once it launches, both Spotify and Apple will offer members-only video inside their apps. Lyons said in June that within two years Instagram could become part of creators' long-form strategy alongside short-form, Inquirer reported. Instagram gave no timeline for a pay model.
Absher runs memberships on both Patreon and Spotify. YMH joined Spotify's partner program before adding memberships. Spotify did not announce a Korean launch date. For Korean broadcasters and creators, the next items to watch are Spotify's market expansion and Instagram's pay model.