Spotify loses 38 million dollars a year due to white noise
Spotify is said to have considered banning white noise content. This is because the algorithm advertises the relaxation sounds too well.
In 2019, Spotify acquired an app called Anchor for creating podcasts. And thus an opportunity to earn money from chatting. The deal worked out well, as over 44 per cent of all podcasts are now said to be hosted with Anchor. What the company hadn't reckoned on: podcasts without voices, with relaxing sounds in a continuous loop, are also ideal for raking in the cash. Not only are they popular, they are also prioritised by the Spotify algorithm. It is pushing to recommend conversational content instead of music.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Spotify could increase its gross profit by up to 38 million US dollars a year if it banned white noise content. This is not just the classic ant race that we know from tube televisions without reception. It also includes wave noise, wind, rain and more.
Now, according to internal documents, Spotify is said to have considered banning such content. There were also reports on Reddit from users who were temporarily denied white noise content two months ago. An anonymous white noise podcaster has also contacted Bloomberg. He claims that his podcasts have disappeared twice this year. Once for around three weeks and once for ten days. The first time he lost 50,000 downloads per day and the second time 20,000. 18,000 US dollars and more per month are said to be possible with such content by placing adverts.
Spotify confirmed the internal plans at Bloomberg's request and said: "The proposal in question did not materialise - we continue to have white noise podcasts on our platform."
The company would not comment on the incidents on Reddit, saying it could not discuss specific episodes.
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