Spotify is revamping its podcast charts to help listeners find new shows and stay up-to-date on local news
So here comes a very popular, and controversial, feature from the podcasting industry to Spotify. Now, many users' favorite app will be on par with its famous competitors like Apple Podcasts.
The two initial podcast charts will be called “Trending” and “Top.” Trending, based in part on the speed of listenership growth, will feature 50 trending shows, while Top will feature the 200 most popular shows, and will be located by region.
The Top, which already exists in a much smaller form, and in some regions will also be broken down into categories, such as business, comedy and technology. Spotify's charts will be updated daily and will be available in 26 countries, including the US, Mexico, the UK, Brazil and Germany.
Podcast charts can be controversial, especially because the algorithms that determine their rankings are often “cloudy.” Many try to replicate them, leading people in the podcasting industry to question their legitimacy. A spokesperson for the music service said it has “overlapping systems” in place to monitor illegal activity and remove bad actors from the service, according to The Verge.
Spotify has previously faced bot listeners who try to inflate music and royalties. In these cases, the incentive to cheat the system is higher because such cheaters are paid per listen. Podcasters are not paid per listen, which is one reason the app wanted to focus on that industry.
However, people have tried to figure out how to play podcast charts on other platforms. Charts could make shows more widely known, simply by exposing listeners to podcasts they haven't heard.
In 2018, podcaster John Perotti paid $5 to someone online who managed to get his tiny show to number 55 on Apple's top podcast chart. The same could happen on Spotify as podcasters seek more attention and listeners.
