Spotify Video Podcast Guide for Creators

At a Glance

• Creators upload video podcasts to Spotify for Creators as an MP4 or MOV file.

• Spotify recommends a 16:9 aspect ratio and desktop-only uploads for video episodes.

• The Spotify Partner Program pays video podcasters through ad revenue and Premium watch-time payouts.

• Short clips help video episodes get discovered by increasing saves and shares.

• Completion rate, saves, and consumption hours show whether a video episode is performing well.

YouTube is still the default home for video podcasters, but it isn't the only place listeners catch their favorite show on screen.

Spotify's video podcast audience has grown well past where it was even a year ago. Their own Q2 2026 earnings put it at over 500 million users who've now streamed a video podcast on the platform, with consumption up 140% since the Partner Program launched.

Now, if you’re still holding on to audio only, that's fine. Spotify has plenty of listeners who want exactly that. But a growing share also wants some visual support. In fact, Edison Research found that 82% of Americans consumed a video podcast weekly.

Whether that's real watching or just video playing in the background is a separate question. Sounds Profitable has pointed out that a lot of self-described "viewers" are mostly listening. Still, video is worth exploring for what it adds to your show.

After all, easing into video can help your brand. It opens up new audiences and gives you another way to connect with the ones you already have.

If you're trying to figure out how to get your podcast in front of more people, this guide walks through how to upload and publish it on Spotify.

Producing Your Show

While right now we’re sharing how to upload and publish your video podcasts on Spotify, we thought it would be worth it to mention a little more about video podcasts.

First of all, what do we mean by a video podcast?

A video podcast is still, at its core, an audio show, just with an added visual layer. That could mean simple footage of your host behind the mic, or a full-scale production with multiple cameras, graphics, and creative cutaways. The options are endless.

We usually recommend leaning into video properly if you’re going to do it. Mix clean footage with engaging visuals to keep your audience hooked. But remember: you’re still making a podcast.

Listeners shouldn’t miss out if they’re only hearing it. You don’t need to turn into a YouTuber overnight. Keep what makes podcasting special (storytelling, pacing, and connection) and build from there.

If you’re wondering how to start a video podcast, you should first consider the concept. Both for your subject matter and the visuals. Consider whether you want to show footage of guests and the hosts talking, or if you’d like to experiment with b-roll footage.

Next, gather equipment for your video podcasting setup. You can always start with entry-level gear, like a smartphone camera, a tripod, a USB microphone, and a free-tier subscription of whichever editing software you fancy.

Having said that, a little investment in quality gear goes a long way in our experience. Take a gander at our list of the best video podcasting equipment for beginners and pros to learn more.

Regardless of what gear you’ve procured, you’ll want to get comfortable with editing software. Descript or Riverside are excellent starting points, and here’s everything else we recommend. Next up: your publishing workflow.

Uploading Your Show to Spotify for Creators

To upload your episode to Spotify for Creators (formerly “Spotify for Podcasters”), make sure your file is in either .mov or .mp4 format. Spotify also recommends a 16:9 aspect ratio for the best display on the platform.

Note that this only works from a browser: video uploads currently work through Spotify for Creators on desktop, not the mobile app. You can start a draft on your desktop and publish it later from your phone, but the upload itself has to happen on the web.

Log into your Spotify for Creators account and click New Episode in the top right corner of the dashboard, then choose your video file. Older instructions mention a "Quick Upload" step in a dropdown menu, but that no longer appears in the current interface.

Head to the location of your video file on your computer and select it to start the upload. While the file is uploading, you can enter the title, description, and any other details for the episode.

Once the video file has finished uploading, you can choose to publish the episode immediately or schedule it for later.

What if Your Show Isn't Hosted on Spotify for Creators?

Podcasters who host their RSS feed on other platforms, like Podbean or Transistor, can still add video to their Spotify listing. How you do it now depends on your host.

A number of hosting platforms, including Libsyn, Podigee, Audioboom, Audiomeans, and Podspace, now connect to Spotify's Distribution API.

If yours is one of them, you can publish and monetize video straight from your own dashboard, without touching Spotify for Creators at all. Check with your host first, since this saves you a step and keeps everything in one place.

If your host isn't on that list yet, you can still upload manually. When you connected your RSS to Spotify, it prompted you to create a Spotify for Creators account either way. Log into Spotify for Creators and you'll see all your podcast information there.

Head to the podcast you want to upload video to, then find the episode you'd like to add video to. Click the three dots next to it and select Upload Video. You'll be prompted to choose your file, and once it's uploaded, you can preview the episode before publishing it.

One thing worth knowing: you can't use both paths for the same episode. If your host has already pushed the video through the API, the manual upload option won't be there to use.

Your podcast, which may stay audio-only on your original RSS feed, will still have a video version available to watch on Spotify.

Publishing and Distribution

Once you've uploaded your video to Spotify for Creators, the next step is to publish your episode. This is pretty straightforward: enter your episode details like title, description, and potentially episode-specific artwork.

Then you can decide if you'd like to publish right away or schedule the episode for later. Your podcast is then available to listen to (or watch) on Spotify. Listeners can switch between audio-only and video playback, so they can engage with your content however they prefer.

Are There Other Video RSS Hosting Sites?

Yes, and the list has grown. RSS.com, Libsyn, and Podbean all support video in the feed itself, so your episodes can carry video outside of Spotify too. A smaller group goes further.

Libsyn, Podigee, Audioboom, Audiomeans, and Podspace connect directly to Spotify's Distribution API, meaning creators on those five platforms can publish video straight to Spotify and access Partner Program monetization without uploading anything manually.

If your host is one of these five, that's the more direct route. Everyone else can still add video the manual way, covered above.

Monetizing Your Show

Getting a video episode published on Spotify is one thing. Getting paid for it is a separate step, and it runs through the Spotify Partner Program.

As of January 2026, the bar to join is a lot lower than it used to be. You need three published episodes, 2,000 hours of consumption in the last 30 days, and 1,000 engaged listeners in that same window.

Spotify dropped these numbers down from the previous 12 episodes, 10,000 hours, and 2,000 listeners, so shows that couldn't have qualified a year ago often can now.

Your legal address also has to be in one of a set list of eligible countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia among others, so it's worth checking before you plan around this.

Once you're eligible, you apply through the Monetize tab in your Spotify for Creators dashboard, and Spotify reviews your show against its monetization policies before approving it.

If you get in, video pays out through two separate streams at once. One is a 50% share of ad revenue when free-tier listeners hit your dynamic ad breaks. The other is a Premium video payout based on how much Premium subscribers actually watch.

Both run on the same episode at the same time. Payouts come through Stripe or Spotify Payouts, and processing fees, currency conversion, and cashout fees can all eat into what actually lands in your account.

Spotify has also given creators more control over sponsorships. Since April 2026, Partner Program creators can remove, replace, or add host-read sponsorships in already-published video episodes, schedule changes in advance, and see delivery metrics on how those spots performed.

One thing worth setting expectations around: video doesn't yet monetize as well as audio on a per-listen basis. Audioboom, one of the hosting platforms plugged into Spotify's video ecosystem, reported in January 2026 that its audio content earns roughly $71 per thousand downloads on average, while video earns less than half that.

That gap lines up with what Sounds Profitable found earlier in this guide: a lot of people watching video podcasts are mostly listening. Video can still be worth adding for reach and connection, but it isn't yet the higher-earning format on a like-for-like basis.

Using Clips for Discovery

Uploading video is only half the job. Spotify's discovery system leans heavily on signals like saves, shares, follower growth, and how much of an episode people actually finish, and short clips are one of the more direct ways to generate those signals.

Since May 2026, Spotify lets listeners cut and share a moment from any video episode, and creators can also upload their own short clips directly instead of relying on people to make them. Spotify has said early testing shows clips increase saves on the episodes they come from.

Shows that skip this step often hit a growth plateau that has nothing to do with content quality. If nobody's cutting clips from your episodes, you're missing one of the few tools built to get you in front of people who don't already listen.

What to Track

Once your video episode is live, a few metrics will tell you whether it's actually working. Start with engaged listeners and consumption hours, because Spotify uses those two to decide Partner Program eligibility, which makes them worth tracking even before you qualify. 

From there, completion rate matters more for video than it ever did for audio, since a show can pull people in and still lose them halfway through without you noticing. Saves and shares are worth watching alongside it too.

Strong watch time paired with low saves usually points to a clip strategy problem rather than the episode itself. Judge all of this across a few weeks instead of one episode at a time, since single-episode swings are normal and don't mean much on their own.

If you're already in the Partner Program, keep an eye on Premium video watch time separately, as that's the number driving your Premium payout. Everything here lives in the analytics tab of your Spotify for Creators dashboard.

FAQs

Will my episode show up as video everywhere, or just on Spotify?

Just on Spotify. When you upload through Spotify for Creators or Megaphone, it streams through Spotify's own native video system. Everywhere else, including Apple Podcasts and any app pulling from your RSS feed, the same episode delivers as audio only.

Does video take much longer to edit than audio alone?

Plan for it to. Video editing typically runs two to four times longer than audio-only editing, since you're syncing footage, cutting for pacing across two tracks, and handling multi-camera angles on top of the usual audio work.

Where do most people actually discover video podcasts?

YouTube still leads, for most shows. Recent estimates put YouTube around 31% of new-podcast discovery, Spotify around 24%, and Apple Podcasts near 12%. Where your audience already lives should shape how you split production effort.

Does every podcast format benefit from adding video?

It depends on the format. Interview and conversation shows tend to gain the most from video, since there's visible back-and-forth to watch. Solo or narrative-driven shows often see less payoff relative to the extra production cost, so it's worth weighing that before committing resources.

Closing Thoughts

In some cases you may need to take an extra step to upload your video content, but Spotify video podcasts can be well worth it!

Offering your audience the opportunity to consume content how they want can increase engagement, and reach. The one thing we can guarantee is that you won’t lost anything from taking the leap into video podcasting.