Spotify unveils memberships to help creators earn directly from fans

Spotify is launching a memberships feature that will allow eligible creators to earn recurring revenue directly from fans, as the platform expands its monetisation tools.

The feature lets creators offer exclusive content and experiences to their most engaged listeners, creating a new subscription-based income stream inside Spotify. 

Announcing the update at its 2026 Investor Day last week, Spotify said memberships create “a natural path to go deeper, unlocking new and exclusive experiences for fans and new revenue opportunities for creators.”

Creators will have direct access to subscribers, the ability to import and export audiences across platforms, and audience intelligence tools intended to help them better understand listener behaviour. Those already managing subscriptions elsewhere will still be able to distribute gated content through Spotify Open Access. The feature is expected to roll out to select creators later this year.

The move forms part of Spotify’s broader push to make the platform more interactive. Co-president and chief product officer Gustav Söderström said Spotify is evolving from a “single-player and passive” platform into a more “multiplayer and interactive” experience.

Memberships extend Spotify’s existing creator infrastructure, which already includes free hosting for audio and video podcasts, analytics tools and monetisation through the Spotify Partner Program.

Spotify has also officially launched Creator Sponsorships, a tool first announced earlier this year that gives creators in the Partner Program more control over how they schedule, replace and analyse brand sponsorships for video content.

The platform recently expanded its video podcast distribution network through integrations with Libsyn, Podigee, Audioboom, Audiomeans and Podspace, with Apple Podcasts video distribution support planned later this year.

“This is just the beginning of our next monetisation chapter,” co-president Alex Norström said.