Swedish streaming giant Spotify is making it easier to find trending and top podcasts with the release of two new charts in the iOS and Android mobile app.
The Top Podcasts charts will list the 200 most popular shows in the selected region or category, while Trending Podcasts will display the top 50 ‘rapidly rising shows’.
Spotify has released both ‘Top’ and ‘Tending’ across 26 markets, including the UK, the US, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Germany and Australia.
The Top and Trending charts will help listeners categorise and discover their new favourites and give them ‘a handful of options’ when on the hunt for a new show.
Trending Podcasts include the ‘fastest-climbing of-the-moment trends’ and uses an algorithm that allows users to discover newly-launched shows
‘We’ve done the hard work and rounded up all the latest and greatest podcasts to make your search easy,’ Spotify said in a blog post.
‘Whether you’re looking for a tried-and-true favourite or the latest show that your coworkers are obsessing over, rest assured these charts will help you discover them all.
‘The new podcasts charts mark a significant leap for podcast discovery, offering listeners an accurate resource for the most-listened to and of-the-moment trending shows, while giving podcasters an opportunity to get their shows discovered.’
Users can find the Top Podcasts and Trending Podcasts charts on the Spotify app on iOS and Android devices by selecting the Search icon on the menu bar, followed by ‘Podcast Charts’ under ‘Categories’.
Trending Podcasts uses a ‘unique algorithm blend’ to find the fastest movers in terms of popularity and helps users to discover newly-launched shows.
Top Podcasts, meanwhile, includes the overall most popular podcasts, determined by recent listener numbers based on region.
Top Podcasts includes the overall most popular podcasts, geared for stability and integrity, determined by recent listener numbers. Updated monthly, this chart provides an accurate resource for the most-listened-to shows
Updated monthly, Top Podcasts provides ‘an accurate resource for the most-listened-to shows’, Spotify said.
In total, 26 markets are getting the new Top and Trending Podcasts charts – New Zealand, Ireland, Argentina, Austria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Spain, The Netherlands, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Germany, Australia, Mexico, Sweden, the UK and the US.
Top Podcasts will also be available by podcast category, but only for seven of these markets – the UK, the US, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Germany and Australia.
This feature will add even more ‘discoverability’ – for example, users in the UK will be able to search for the top true crime podcasts by turning on a filter.
The charts, which are rolling out in 26 markets on Spotify mobile (iOS and Android), not only share the fastest-climbing of-the-moment trends for podcasts with users, but will also list the overall most popular shows in your region based on recent listener numbers
As part of the charts launch, there will also be an updated product experience in ‘Spotify for Podcasters’ – its dedicated platform for podcast creators.
In Spotify for Podcasters, the firm is adding notifications to users’ dashboards to alert podcasters when they are charting.
The notifications include a shareable card they can use as a visual to share their success across their own social media.
Spotify said there are more than 1 million podcasts on its platform and the new charts will help users to easily discover new podcasts much like music on the platform, for which it is best known.
WHAT IS SPOTIFY?
Spotify is a music, video and podcast streaming service founded on April 23, 2006 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Spotify allows users to create and customise their own playlists and browse content using parameters such genre, artist and album searches.
It compensates artists by paying them royalties based on the number of their streams proportional to the number of total songs streamed overall.
The company was founded by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and officially launched on October 7, 2008.
Spotify is a music, video and podcast streaming service founded on April 23, 2006 in Stockholm, Sweden. Spotify allows users to create and customise their own playlists and browse content using parameters such genre, artist and album searches
It operates using a ‘freemium’ service model, meaning that its basic features are free with some restrictions and advertisements while additional services are available via paid subscription.
The service is available in most of North and South America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and some parts of Asia.
It’s available on macOS, Windows and Linux computers as well as on Android, iOS and Windows smartphones and tablet computers.
Spotify currently has approximately 159 million users, 71 million of whom use paid subscription services.
Its revenue for fiscal year 2017 is believed to be about $4.99 billion (£3.63bn).