SCOOP: Leaked Spotify Deck Reveals Big Video Push — and Raid on YouTube
Forget podcasts: The music platform is promising money and marketing for top creators, and I have the numbers
I write about the creator economy. I covered the creator coup at Cannes Lions, the writers’ civil war at Substack, the boom in microdramas and the talent battle between Netflix and YouTube. Reach me at natalie@theankler.com
I’m coming to you from Los Angeles today, finally home again after an eventful and glamorous week at Cannes Lions and a much less fabulous journey back. I really should have used that unexpected extra night in Paris to see Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus but instead found myself at an airport Sheraton, just a couple days after luxuriating at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. C’est la vie!
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Today I’ve got an exclusive look at a leaked pitch deck from Spotify, which is wading further into the fight with YouTube (what media company isn’t battling with the Google-owned streamer these days?) by wooing the platform’s top creators. But before I get into all that, I want to share one of the highlights of my time at Cannes Lions — the conversation I had with Josh Richards and his business partner Chris Sawtelle at ADWEEK House at Le Majestic Hotel on June 18.
The 23-year-old Richards represents a paradigm shift for Hollywood — one that was evident up and down the Croisette as brands hustled to meet with creators, many of whom flew themselves to France to make those connections. Together with Sawtelle, Richards runs CrossCheck Studios, which works with brands and entertainment giants like Amazon MGM Studios to help them connect with Gen Z audiences. Social media is like “lighting in a bottle,” Richards told me during the Q&A, explaining that he started CrossCheck Studios out of a desire to “build out something that was able to live on past just my name.”
You can listen to the full conversation — which includes Richards’ tips for engaging Gen Z, the investment advice he got from Ashton Kutcher, and a declaration that “broadcast television is dead” — on The Ankler podcast (subscribe at Apple podcasts here).
Meanwhile, have you taken a look at Spotify’s podcast charts lately? During one of my regular check-ins recently, I noticed something surprising. A lot of top YouTubers are leading the charts. Yesterday, for example, chef and cooking creator Nick DiGiovanni had the No. 1 arts podcast in the U.S. on Spotify. Great — except that DiGiovanni doesn’t have a podcast.
What DiGiovanni does have is a library of popular YouTube videos that since January he’s been uploading to Spotify, where they’re clearly resonating with audiences. He tells me over email that he’s a Spotify superfan with more than 40 of his own playlists, and that sharing his videos on the platform “has been really exciting.” Other creators without podcasts who’ve found success on Spotify include JackSepticEye, Ryan Trahan and Game Theorists — all of whom have charted in recent weeks.
Spotify opened its doors to video creators of all stripes this winter after hosting a splashy presentation at its downtown Los Angeles offices in November. Through its first-ever video partner program, the company now shares a cut of advertising and subscription revenue with creators. But not surprisingly, it’s been focused on luring video podcasts to its platform — an effort that, as I reported back in February, is drawing mixed results from podcasters.
Now, Spotify appears to be ramping up its efforts to grow its library of non-podcast video content. In a pitch deck circulating around town that I got my hands on, Spotify declares in bold letters, “We invite you to bring your video to Spotify” with zero mention of podcasts.
Spotify is leaning into this video content because that’s what audiences are indicating they want. The company disclosed last year that it saw a 44 percent year-over-year increase in time spent watching videos. And more than 70 percent of Spotify users have watched video in the foreground of their screen (meaning it’s the primary open window on their device).
Here is a snippet from the deck (full deck is for paid subscribers below):
Spotify’s target — whether CEO Daniel Ek acknowledges it or not — is, of course, YouTube, the streaming video juggernaut that has not only swallowed TV watch time but also become the No. 1 podcast platform in the world with more than 1 billion monthly active viewers for its podcast programming. Spotify, for comparison, touts in that deck that more than 300 million of its users have watched a video podcast.
The audio giant isn’t looking for exclusivity for these videos, but the hope is that even non-exclusive videos can help peel off some of the eyeballs from YouTube and encourage users to stay within its walled garden a little longer.
While not every creator is buying into Spotify’s video pitch — you don’t see MrBeast there, for instance — you can find a lot of programming from top names like Alan Chikin Chow and the Stokes Twins on the platform.
“With YouTube transitioning into more of a TV-oriented offering, there was this opportunity for Spotify to step into the video space in a way that isn’t so podcast-centric,” says one executive who has been helping creators navigate whether to publish their videos to Spotify. He adds that his company has tripled its footprint on the platform in the last year: “We weren’t necessarily expecting a lot from Spotify, but there was an opportunity here.”
🔒 Paid subscribers get an exclusive look at the full leaked Spotify deck — plus:
💵 The real numbers Spotify is using to sell creators (including how one podcaster made $75,000 in three months)
📋 The behind-the-scenes creator advice being shared privately: how long your videos should be, what formats monetize best and what Spotify promotes most
🎬 The platform’s top-performing video strategies — what kinds of content actually work, and what doesn’t
⚖️ How Spotify’s new ad revenue and subscription model stacks up against YouTube — and why some creators are quietly making the switch
📈 Why top YouTubers like JackSepticEye and Nick DiGiovanni are suddenly dominating Spotify’s podcast charts — without even launching podcasts
