Internal doc: Spotify weighed removing white noise podcasts and redirecting users to “talk” content, which would boost the company's annual gross profit by €35M

An internal document shows that white noise podcasts account for 3 million daily consumption hours on the platform

Bloomberg 2023-08-18 Ashley Carman

Context & Ripple Effects

Spotify had already hosted a growing white-noise creator market, with some producers reportedly earning meaningful monthly income from soothing-audio shows in Spotify's earlier white-noise boom. The internal analysis puts that long-tail category in tension with Spotify's broader push to make podcast investment economically productive.

The document matters because it treats listener time as a resource to be allocated, not simply served. Subsequent coverage of a planned reduction in ad support for white-noise podcasts suggests the profitability concern was connected to a broader tightening of creator monetization rules.

First-order effects

Spotify gains an internal financial rationale to deprioritize or remove white-noise programming: redirecting its roughly 3 million daily consumption hours toward talk content was estimated to add €35M in annual gross profit.
White-noise podcasters face a more precarious position on the platform, since their audience time may be valued less than content Spotify sees as carrying stronger advertising or strategic returns.

Second-order effects

A shift away from white noise would push affected creators to diversify distribution or formats, while making Spotify's remaining podcast inventory relatively more oriented toward talk programming.
The later reported plan to cut ad support for white-noise shows indicates that monetization eligibility, not only content removal, can be used to steer creator behavior and reduce the economics of low-priority formats.

Third-order effects

If this approach persists, audio platforms may increasingly optimize catalog policy around the profit contribution of listening hours, rather than treating all engagement as equally valuable.
That would deepen the trade-off captured by the earlier exclusive-podcast expansion: platform-controlled or higher-yield formats can receive preferential distribution and monetization, while low-cost long-tail content bears more policy risk.

The trend: Spotify's white-noise review is one instance of streaming platforms reallocating attention and creator incentives toward formats with clearer monetization or strategic value.

Discussion

@katienotopoulos Katie Notopoulos on threads
Fascinated by this, because I often use Spotify for a white noise playlist while traveling/napping, and it's weirdly really fraught: the songs max out at 3hrs and even though I TRY to loop it, so often I get woken up to loon calls as it shifts to some algo-recommended next track …
@mylesudland Myles Udland on x
The “end of the millennial subsidy” economy is quickly turning into the “and then when you pay for it, the service also gets worse, too” economy
@muckymann Steve Mann on x
It's hard to fathom the tsunami of angry, exhausted parents this would create if the white nose was suddenly replaced with Joe Rogan at 3am.
@aotearoa_ben Ben G on x
Absolutely chefs-kiss example of unintended consequences from extrinsic rewards. A reminder of whatever metric or incentive you put in place, it will be gamed.
@loudmouthjulia Julia Alexander on x
This Bloomberg story from @ashleyrcarman about Spotify looking to ban white noise podcasts, which were generating significant ad revenue for some podcasts, which were uploaded under the “talk shows” category, is so fascinating. https://www.bloomberg.com/... [image]
@ashleyrcarman Ashley Carman on x
scoop: spotify has a white-noise podcast problem. people spent 3 million hours per day listening to the shows, taking time away from white noise/ambient music spotify licenses on more favorable terms. this cost spotify $38 million in annual gross profit https://www.bloomberg.com/…
@cullend Cullen on x
This is idiotic. No one putting on a white noise podcast is going to switch to talk content. Some people like falling asleep to podcasts. Some people would rather put ice picks through their ears than fall asleep to people talking.
@dada_drummer @dada_drummer on x
They won't even let people make money from white noise...
r/billsimmons r on reddit
[Bloomberg] Spotify Looked to Ban the Ryen Russillo Podcast to Become More Profitable

Chronicles