Is Spotify the new YouTube?
+ BlueSky has the juice, the MAGA girlie aesthetic, NPC streamer romance, brr baskets, and drama on the Crumbl cookie subreddit
For years, YouTube has been the undisputed king of online video, but this week Spotify rolled out some changes that might challenge its throne.
At a podcast star-studded event in Los Angeles on Wednesday (the Hawk Tuah girl was there along with a slew of big YouTubers), Spotify announced its new "Spotify Creators" program, which will allow content creators who upload video shows to Spotify to earn money based on how many views they amass on the platform.
Previously, video podcasts on Spotify could only monetize through ads running during their shows. “By giving you guys, the creators, another path to monetization beyond ads, we’re freeing you up to do what you like doing, which is to create," Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said on stage.
Beginning January, Spotify Premium subscribers will no longer have podcasts interrupted by ads. “Your fans, they love watching video podcasts," Ek told creators, "but they don’t love the industry shift to a heavy load of third-party ads… We know that people like listening to their favorite artists without interruption, so why shouldn’t they be able to watch your videos in the same way?” For creators, these changes mean that fans will be able to get a seamless, bingeable experience that mirrors what YouTube Premium offers, but on Spotify.
Spotify’s numbers alone are enough to make content creators take notice. Over 250 million users have streamed video podcasts on Spotify, and the platform’s video podcast user base has exploded, growing by more than 60% year-over-year. Currently, more than 1 in 3 U.S. podcast users engage with video, and Spotify’s video library now includes over 300,000 video podcast shows. These stats clearly show an opportunity for Spotify to lure creators (and their fans) away from YouTube.
Creators at the event on Wednesday were skeptical but optimistic. Spotify's senior director of content partnerships, Jordan Newman, met with creators one by one throughout the day to answer their questions about how the program will work and what they can expect. So far the company is not revealing what sort of CPMs creators can expect on their videos, but said that it will be "worth it."
In between panels from leaders in the podcast space like David Rosenthal, co-host of the business podcast Acquired and Drew Afualo, a TikToker turned podcaster, creators were treated to bagels and Erewhon smoothies, and could engage in a range of activities like making their own friendship bracelets to developing their own custom Spotify signature scent. Big names like journalist Don Lemon, life coach Jay Shetty, and reality TV star turned podcaster Nick Vial were roaming around.
But while the event was buzzy and the platform’s new offerings are exciting, they come with some serious risks for creators who are already big on YouTube. YouTube's algorithm, although often frustratingly opaque, is finely tuned to keep video content in front of users. Spotify doesn’t really have a comparable system for serving up video content yet. Creators could also struggle to get the same visibility on Spotify that they’re used to on YouTube, especially if they aren’t already a top name with a built-in following.
There’s also the potential for cannibalization. Video creators who go all-in on Spotify’s new offerings could risk pulling viewers away from their YouTube channels, which, for many, is still their primary income source.
.A recent study showed that 64% of podcast listeners now prefer video podcasts, a huge leap from 43% in 2021.
But the opportunity Spotify offers is hard to ignore. The platform gives creators access to a huge pool of engaged listeners who spend about 40 hours a month on the platform (younger subscribers are averaging closer to 60 hours). These users are already primed for longform content, and Spotify’s mix of video and audio gives creators a chance to reach them in new ways.
I think this program is an especially good opportunity for smaller and mid sized creators who have had trouble competing in YouTube's saturated ecosystem. I'd definitely love to publish video episodes of Power User on Spotify, just to see if people would even watch?!
If Spotify is successful, it could shift the balance of power in the creator economy and introduce a whole new home for longform video creators. And, with creators constantly seeking new ways to reach audiences, Spotify’s video push could mark the start of a new era in platform competition.
Does Bluesky have the juice?
Twitter has been in an absolute free fall since the election. On Nov. 6, it experienced its largest user exodus since Musk bought the platform as users rushed to apps like Bluesky and Instagram Threads. Many more users abandoned the app ahead of X’s new terms of service going into effect today. The new ToS gives Musk the right to use all of your tweets, photos and videos to train his AI bot, Grok.
The battle to replace Twitter has been going on for quite some time now. Early contenders like Post and T2 have shut down, while Instagram’s Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon have been chugging along.
As I’ve said many times on my podcast Power User, Meta’s overly aggressive blunt moderation systems, its decision to down rank and shadow ban journalists and anyone who speaks about social justice issues, and it's total unwillingness to act as a home for real-time information, means it will never truly occupy the space that Twitter once was.
For now, Bluesky seems to be the winner, but what it really won was a declining user base of people who, as Intercept journalist Sam Biddle put it, have "theater kid energy" and "the vibes of an RA trying to organize a dorm activity"
Is there even a point to embracing a new text-based posting app in 2024 when, as Biddle notes, all Bluesky users are really doing is posting to a niche social network that no one really sees in an effort to “basically LARP using Twitter?
Ultimately, I agree with Garbage Day’s Ryan Broderick who wrote: “[Bluesky] still doesn’t feel like a one-stop shop for the kinds of memes or news stories that Twitter was in its heyday or TikTok is now. In other words, it doesn’t feel quite ready to be the main artery of the internet. And some of its most passionate super users, many of which are burned out Twitter refugees who decamped for a quieter network, don’t seem to really want that to happen ever.”
If you’re on Bluesky please follow me and let me know what you think!
The newsletter wars heat up
Beehiiv, a newsletter publishing platform, is making a “multi-million dollar investment” in attracting journalists and launching a “Beehiiv media collective” of journalists as it tries to compete with Substack. Beehiiv journalists will receive a monthly health insurance stipend and will get access to Beehiiv's network of insurance partners among a slew of other benefits. Substack initially offered benefits to independent writers but has cut back majorly. I predict we see a lot more big names jump ship to Beehiiv, especially as Substack leans harder into pushing its app.
What I’m reading
Ignoring Public Health May Have Cost Democrats the Election
The Biden administration cut pandemic-era health benefits, and the Harris campaign failed to present any comprehensive health care reform policies. This was not an inspiring message for voters. - The New Republic
Meet the “MAGA girlie”: This Is the Trump 2.0 Aesthetic
Thanks to more mainstream influencers, a new, desirable, imitable aesthetic has emerged—and this time it wears a MAGA hat. - WIRED
More fun stuff
Wall Street bonuses are back on the rise for the first time in years.
This chrome extension uploads all your old tweets to Bluesky.
Boo baskets are so last month, it’s all about brr baskets now.
It looks like Sweetgreen might have stolen their viral kale camo merch idea from a streetwear brand founder.
A Realistic Day in my Life Living in NYC, by artist Maya Man, is an art piece that runs every hour on the hour on the Whitney Museum website. It excerpts text mentioning specific hours of the day from publicly posted “day in my life” TikTok videos. (h/t
)Two NPC streamers have found love! NPC Miles Morales and NPC PinkyDoll are now dating after appearing on Kai Cenat’s subathon.
The Hawk Tuah girl launched Pookie Tools, an AI-powered dating advice app.
The Onion bought Alex Jones’ Infowars and plans to re-spin it up as a satirical site.
Why The New York Times is back all over everyone’s Facebook feeds.
Bumble released their 2025 dating trends: more “micro-mance,” book clubs and run clubs remain huge, and guy best friends playing a bigger role in romance.
Redact-A-Chat is a chat platform where every word can only be used once a day.
Brands are now hosting lookalike competitions so I think it’s fair to declare this trend over.
Apple and A24 are developing a Sam Bankman Fried movie with Lena Dunham writing.
Turntable Labs has launched a new social music platform called Hangout that lets people play virtual DJ.
Some of the most popular content on Facebook leading up to the election was AI-generated Elon Musk inspiration porn made by people in other countries.
Drama has broken out on the Crumbl cookie subreddit, where it seems like many people don’t even like Crumbl cookies!? “Everyone on there HATES the cookies, but they still them all every week. They're the most pissed off people on the planet,” one user posted.
MKBHD apologized and deleted a segment from a YouTube video where he was driving a Lamborghini 96mph in a 35mph residential area.
Pinterest launched over 1,000 shoppable gift guides curated by celebrities, brands, and publishers like Emma Chamberlain, Bowen Yang, Rare Beauty, and Vogue.
TikTok has filed trademarks for two new apps in the U.S.: TikTok Go, to “promote restaurants, retail businesses, the travel industry, and other businesses,” and TikTok PayLater, which allows customers to split their payments into monthly installments. Clearly they don’t think they’re getting banned anytime soon!
YouTube is testing an endless TikTok-like feed of videos when you scroll.
Alix Traeger and Zoya Biglary, a content creator couple with over three million social media followers, went on Shark Tank Friday November 8th to promote their plant-based seafood brand: Fysh Foods— and they got an offer. I predict we’ll see more creator-led brands infiltrating Shark Tank…
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Unpopular opinion: all of the good discussions about consumer facing AI products is happening on Twitter like nowhere else. I don't know why, it's just what I've observed.
Spotify is trying to dethrone YouTube with video podcasts, so naturally, they threw an LA event with bagels and Erewhon smoothies. Nothing says “creator empowerment” like handing out green mush in glass jars that cost more than the Uber to get there.
Creators are worried about splitting their audience by posting on Spotify. It’s like when McDonald’s introduced salads—sounds smart, but no one’s pulling up to the drive-thru for kale with croutons. They’re here for fries, shame, and that McFlurry machine that’s definitely broken.
Ek claims fans “love uninterrupted video podcasts.” Sure—and I love uninterrupted naps, but I’m not paying $9.99 a month for it. They’re pitching creator empowerment, but all creators hear is, “Here’s a smoothie. Good luck!”