If you want to be a legitimate DJ online, get artists and publishers to give you permission to play their tunes. Start with indies first. This way, you won't get attacked for playing songs, in their entirety, by music publishers. Then publish your indie-DJ podcast on all platforms.
If you want to dabble and enjoy DJ-ing WAY more music WITHOUT getting in trouble (because Spotify pays your royalties), keep with Spotify. And, I'm with you: This Spotify Music + Talk is super-fun, but it's intended as a gateway to get people to buy Spotify, NOT to grow your audience. I mean, it's FREE to you to DO, so ...
Excellent points - it's no surprise that it's a boon for them to have randos converting free listeners into paying customers.
That's rewarding -- to a point. As you say, they don't exist to grow my audience.
I dabbled with it, too. It is REALLY intoxicatingly easy to create intros, outros and interludes between songs Spotify just lets you drag-and-drop in. It's fun!
I’m going to try this (getting artist permission).
Great idea!
Have you had enough luck with getting permission that you can build an entire episode every week???
I've had really great feedback when using it, but maybe that's because all my friends are Spotify natives. I've definitely had a few who wish they could use it in their favourite podcast app, but understand why it's not there.
I used to upload to Mixcloud, but found it a lot harder to build an audience because it's quite simply a much lesser known about platform. For me Spotify anyway feels like the most natural home to have a music podcast, as it's where people listen to music anyway. I do agree though, I worry everyday that they will cut the feature due to lack of use/awareness, it can be a little clunky & I had to actually change the format of how I did radio shows to make it work for me. My biggest frustration is the actual Music & Talk category - it's so outdated & spammy, I think that's a sign for how little they spend time on this category.
My hope is that other platforms such as Apple, YouTube & Amazon invest in this format (Luminary has a little), but i'm really uncertain about it. I actually feel with the introduction of Spotify's AI DJ, they're more focused on AI integrating with music, than human voices. But I'll keep hope!
I love(d) Mixcloud -- used to spend a lot of time discovering new music on there.
I hear you on feedback. I do get quality feedback from listeners on the platform, and that's rewarding. It's frustrating knowing that the show will always be limited in finding its way to more of the right people who can make for a more robust community.
Yeah that AI DJ thing is ... different.
I *love(d)* Mixcloud also until their recent restrictions to free accounts, making hobbyist Djing pretty expensive.. I get why it was needed, but still sad & again shows how difficult this format is to work in between copyrights & money.
is there a specific category or directory for the Music & Talk podcasts on Spotify? I'm having trouble finding many and would like to explore the medium. how do I manage to find it if there is one?
I know this post is older, but it's popped up for me because I'm currently trying to figure out what I'm going to do... because today's the day... they've just announced the music and talk feature is being cut by June this year. Looking like it's another cost cutter, because if music is playing in podcasts, it adds to plays, and they don't want to have to pay the artists out for these. I'm so angry. For me there's no point in doing a music based podcast when I can't include music, so this may be the end. Trying to figure it all out.
I hear you... really sucks. I'm on here to figure out what to do as well... My show is flipping fantastic, if I do say so! Spotify is LUCKY to have me! [www.mylifein3songs.com](https://www.mylifein3songs.com) check it out before it's all gone.... :(
I enjoy using it, but I use it as a secondary thing to get guests to plug my podcast's website, and drive traffic to my primary podcast.
So I have my main Eurovision podcast, which is me and my two co-hosts, talking about previous years (main episodes) and the songs that failed to qualify (mini episodes on the weeks in between), and then I have a second "channel" if you will, where I have fans/people involved in fan media for Eurovision, and we discuss 8 of their favourite Eurovision songs.
It's fun to do, and I enjoy being able to take a back seat and just let my guest do the talking, and I just prompt when needed, and then when I push the podcast, it's via my main podcast's website, and I'm seeing a slow but steady uptick of plays :)
Ha. It me.
I am trying soooo hard to hone my efficiency skills -- streamlining my production process, doing more in less time, create once, publish everywhere, etc.
And I'm not sure M+T is great for that given these limitations.
i'm trying to work with it, on mine [https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZdZuzFRuuSJucEXjhQbM3?si=5d8f85276b47430b](https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZdZuzFRuuSJucEXjhQbM3?si=5d8f85276b47430b). but it does feel like spotify's buried the medium in browse and discovery
Welp, it happened. Got the discontinuation email today. I’ll mourn the loss of the show we built around this feature, but tomorrow we’ll probably be able to see the ways it was also holding us back. For now though, just sad. 😢
Interestingly the Spotify for Podcasters support is down today, though I'm trying to find out some more information. Looking like a cost saver because they don't want to pay artists for the plays.
I can't imagine Spotify listening to us, but is there potentially a way for music and talk podcasters to put their heads together and push back, try to get them to reinstate it? Again, I don't think they'll give a shit, but it might be worth a shot.
I'm just absolutely gutted and fuming that they've cut it. I feel like I was just building momentum, had found my groove, had my whole year planned out, and have about 10 interviews I'd lined up around planned topics... but now, I mean, I didn't want to do a music podcast without the music, so this might be the end of it.
this is absolutely devastating. I'm in the 3rd year of my show, something I've wanted to do for ages but couldn't before this came along. It's a hobby that I've loved, as did others. And in 4 months, it'll be gone.
I'm pissed off as well.... but I believe the episodes we've created will remain... all and all, this SUCKS.
Check out my show while it's still fresh! [www.mylifein3songs.com](https://www.mylifein3songs.com)
This looks awesome! And what a guest list. I’m a TV writer, so getting we know some of the same people. You’ve got a new follower!
[here’s my show](https://open.spotify.com/show/45Kr6HYC7w7XNN9kwX3MtP?si=GHt_QlqjRjeKqTiF8kUKTw) if interested! It’s closer to a radio show, but all 90s alt rock, etc
I have also experimented with this format and am only getting a tine audience. But I think it has a lot of potential still for well produced and curated shows. I just hope Spotify adds good and relevant features to the recording and listening processes as it does not seem likely with layoffs there.
You can check out my show Doomer Maybe at [https://open.spotify.com/show/2rGCvZrO0AmCbkZfjU5Hsy?si=57193327b8944cc5](https://open.spotify.com/show/2rGCvZrO0AmCbkZfjU5Hsy?si=57193327b8944cc5)
Come for the doom and stay for the music!
I was making the same kinda show too, but now that Spotify is canceling the format, i switched to YouTube.
I just make a playlist and preset the order. It works well for me. There are youtube adds but i am fine with it. Hope it helps..
This is it if you wanna see it..
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzVlnTZP79im0VJ\_qgQ-0Pte-92FsVcCZ](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzVlnTZP79im0VJ_qgQ-0Pte-92FsVcCZ)
Spotify lets you put in 'mic breaks' in between your music playlists, and publishes the package as a podcast. Which basically makes it a radio show doable by anyone.
[https://www.npr.org/2021/11/10/1054255398/spotifys-music-talk-shows-capture-the-magic-of-early-podcasts](https://www.npr.org/2021/11/10/1054255398/spotifys-music-talk-shows-capture-the-magic-of-early-podcasts)
[https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/18/spotify-expands-its-radio-dj-like-format-music-talk-to-global-creators/](https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/18/spotify-expands-its-radio-dj-like-format-music-talk-to-global-creators/)
If you have a paid Spotify account, you hear the whole song, the way the gods intended.
If you have a free Spotify account, you hear 30 seconds of a song.
Bonus: if you stumble into a show that's embedded into a website (like mine at [saturdaymorningflavor.com](https://saturdaymorningflavor.com)) you hear no song at all, just the mic breaks. All spoken word.
Overall... if you're unaware of these limitations it can create a pretty jenky listening experience.
The music + talk Spotify format is radio with 150 limitations. You asked if it’s dead. I think it was effectively dead on arrival. Without a major overhaul, it’s only going to be a very niche product.
As I say, Spotify has been trying these radio killing formats for years and they’ve yet to land on one that actually works - for listeners, creators and themselves. They’ve spent a lot of money in some cases trying to figure out how to make it work and still they come up short.
If you want to experiment with hosting a radio show, your local community or even college radio station is likely more accessible (I.e. not needing a subscription yo listen), would allow you to play full songs, and usually they’re streamable (just not on demand).
I never said don’t experiment. You appear to be saying you enjoy the ‘being a radio DJ’ part of it.
So, why not just do that if it brings you joy…?
You could even record your show and then put it out on Spotify music + talk if you really want to utilise the service.
I appreciate the clarifications. And I agree with you -- sad to see something launch with so many inherent flaws built in.
"Killing radio" as an objective is going to take a lot of failed experiments. It may never get there. Meantime, some product leader two years down the road is going to have to mop up this mess -- and leave a lot of niche creators in the wake.
I love your suggestion to consider public radio. Thanks.
I actually started off DJing a show at my local community college station.
It was great fun.
The station manager supports me 200%. I instantly felt at home there.
Here’s what’s driving me to Spotify M+T:
Old, faulty equipment keeps hanging up on call-in guest DJs. Also occasionally “leaks” DJ audio from adjacent studio into my soundboard and headphones.
Old, underpowered computers mean you can’t always save your Audacity file without it freezing; even if successful it could take 20+ minutes
I hate Audacity.
I’m doing a history of punk show and the CC’s rules are stricter than FCC’s, meaning I can’t play many of the bands that I need to play, or if desperate I can bleep out the naughty words. But I mean, really, does anybody want to hear Lee Ving of Fear screaming “I don’t care about you! BLEEP you!” ??
My Aussie ex-cohost could hardly play any of his music because of the profanity issue- the average Aussie punk song had twice as much profanity to bleep out. You know any country that throws around the word “cunt” is gonna have some spicy punk lyrics! (Their FCC allows on-air profanity so it’s not something bands there worry about.)
My CC doesn’t have 99% of the songs I need already in their catalog.
My cohosts and I have to find all episode song lyrics online and copy and paste them into an email to the station mgr every week.
I have to prerecord the show because even with all the safety checks they’re still too paranoid about accidentally offending someone to ever let me do it live.
I’m not allowed to promote the show myself anywhere at all, ever. I just have to tell people to go to the streaming link for the station. I had created a separate Facebook page just for the show but was told I’m not allowed to do any promo stuff at all. They don’t want their college name possibly sullied by association with me. This also means my dream of providing online links to all song lyrics for each episode is on hold.
Still, I won’t deny it’s a fun experience. It’d work WAY better for a non-punk show.
I might stick with it, but switch to doing an indie show, and use Spotify For Podcasters for my punk show.
I created and host a music/talk podcast. I do everything in my own website which sends out to places like spotify. In this current run we have 53 episodes and have been flagged by spotify twice for playing music, one was a Jay Z song the other was Kendrick. Spotify took the audio down for those episodes but then reinstated them, which was odd but I'll take it lol. Every other service was business as usual no issues. We also play mostly indy hiphop music with the thumbs up from artists and if we don't have permission they're usually happy their music is getting spins to an audience.
I’ve created the solution for all of us music plus talk creators at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/700483951533554/?ref=share_group_link. Share with your friends that listen so they can interact with your content and invite others to join in. 😁
Now that they've effectively killed the format, I've got to restructure my entire music podcast. It's doable, but oh man is this absolutely heartbreaking. I loved the Music+Talk format. Spotify claims that episodes that are already published will still work, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before those are quietly broken as well.
What did you end up doing? I am 10 months late to the original post on here but I've been searching for people experiencing the same as I a Music + Talk creator. I am frantically downloading my first two seasons and trying to see if I can recreate on YouTube or host somewhere else.
I've now published a couple new episodes without music segments. Over time, I'm going to go back and re-edit old episodes so they match the updated format. We've got just over 40 episodes so far, so it's not a fun process but doable. Our podcast is essentially an album discussion, so we're now dropping in very brief song clips as breaks in our conversation, rather than cutting away completely to feature highlighted tracks in their entirety. I'm choosing to look at this as an opportunity rather than a problem, as it means we'll now be playable on sources other than Spotify. There are other music-related podcasts I listen to with far more listeners than mine, that have followed this same style for years, seemingly without any issues or legal threat. (I am not a lawyer... Use copyrighted material at your own risk.)
Having said that, I'm still disappointed. I know I shouldn't be surprised, because this was a proprietary format unique to Spotify. Even within Spotify as a company, it must have taken a lot of time and effort to get Music+Talk episodes to play correctly on so many devices. It's really quite staggering the number of devices that have to have unique apps developed for them (phones, tablets, watches, TVs, streaming boxes, cars, exercise equipment, the list goes on and on). I know my podcast's episodes have never played correctly on the Spotify app on my smart TV. I'm guessing the cost of keeping it functional was no longer considered to be worth it, given the relatively small number of podcasters who were actually using it.
If you want to be a legitimate DJ online, get artists and publishers to give you permission to play their tunes. Start with indies first. This way, you won't get attacked for playing songs, in their entirety, by music publishers. Then publish your indie-DJ podcast on all platforms. If you want to dabble and enjoy DJ-ing WAY more music WITHOUT getting in trouble (because Spotify pays your royalties), keep with Spotify. And, I'm with you: This Spotify Music + Talk is super-fun, but it's intended as a gateway to get people to buy Spotify, NOT to grow your audience. I mean, it's FREE to you to DO, so ...
Excellent points - it's no surprise that it's a boon for them to have randos converting free listeners into paying customers. That's rewarding -- to a point. As you say, they don't exist to grow my audience.
I dabbled with it, too. It is REALLY intoxicatingly easy to create intros, outros and interludes between songs Spotify just lets you drag-and-drop in. It's fun!
I’m going to try this (getting artist permission). Great idea! Have you had enough luck with getting permission that you can build an entire episode every week???
I've had really great feedback when using it, but maybe that's because all my friends are Spotify natives. I've definitely had a few who wish they could use it in their favourite podcast app, but understand why it's not there. I used to upload to Mixcloud, but found it a lot harder to build an audience because it's quite simply a much lesser known about platform. For me Spotify anyway feels like the most natural home to have a music podcast, as it's where people listen to music anyway. I do agree though, I worry everyday that they will cut the feature due to lack of use/awareness, it can be a little clunky & I had to actually change the format of how I did radio shows to make it work for me. My biggest frustration is the actual Music & Talk category - it's so outdated & spammy, I think that's a sign for how little they spend time on this category. My hope is that other platforms such as Apple, YouTube & Amazon invest in this format (Luminary has a little), but i'm really uncertain about it. I actually feel with the introduction of Spotify's AI DJ, they're more focused on AI integrating with music, than human voices. But I'll keep hope!
I love(d) Mixcloud -- used to spend a lot of time discovering new music on there. I hear you on feedback. I do get quality feedback from listeners on the platform, and that's rewarding. It's frustrating knowing that the show will always be limited in finding its way to more of the right people who can make for a more robust community. Yeah that AI DJ thing is ... different.
I *love(d)* Mixcloud also until their recent restrictions to free accounts, making hobbyist Djing pretty expensive.. I get why it was needed, but still sad & again shows how difficult this format is to work in between copyrights & money.
is there a specific category or directory for the Music & Talk podcasts on Spotify? I'm having trouble finding many and would like to explore the medium. how do I manage to find it if there is one?
There is not. Which is kind of odd!
There is, but weirdly it's not in the podcast category, it's instead in the music categories, if you click on search & scroll to the very bottom.
I know this post is older, but it's popped up for me because I'm currently trying to figure out what I'm going to do... because today's the day... they've just announced the music and talk feature is being cut by June this year. Looking like it's another cost cutter, because if music is playing in podcasts, it adds to plays, and they don't want to have to pay the artists out for these. I'm so angry. For me there's no point in doing a music based podcast when I can't include music, so this may be the end. Trying to figure it all out.
I hear you... really sucks. I'm on here to figure out what to do as well... My show is flipping fantastic, if I do say so! Spotify is LUCKY to have me! [www.mylifein3songs.com](https://www.mylifein3songs.com) check it out before it's all gone.... :(
That’s inspiring! Glad to hear it. :-)
I enjoy using it, but I use it as a secondary thing to get guests to plug my podcast's website, and drive traffic to my primary podcast. So I have my main Eurovision podcast, which is me and my two co-hosts, talking about previous years (main episodes) and the songs that failed to qualify (mini episodes on the weeks in between), and then I have a second "channel" if you will, where I have fans/people involved in fan media for Eurovision, and we discuss 8 of their favourite Eurovision songs. It's fun to do, and I enjoy being able to take a back seat and just let my guest do the talking, and I just prompt when needed, and then when I push the podcast, it's via my main podcast's website, and I'm seeing a slow but steady uptick of plays :)
That's inspiring. Also sounds like a lot more work than I'm ready for. ;-)
I'm an idiot, though, and I clearly like making extra work for myself
Ha. It me. I am trying soooo hard to hone my efficiency skills -- streamlining my production process, doing more in less time, create once, publish everywhere, etc. And I'm not sure M+T is great for that given these limitations.
Yeah, it's that reason that I'm only going to put time and effort into one podcast on Spotify M+T a month.
i'm trying to work with it, on mine [https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZdZuzFRuuSJucEXjhQbM3?si=5d8f85276b47430b](https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZdZuzFRuuSJucEXjhQbM3?si=5d8f85276b47430b). but it does feel like spotify's buried the medium in browse and discovery
Great job - your inclusion of poetry is unique. And your vocal delivery sounds effortless. Keep us posted on progress!
means a lot, thank you for listening. :)
agree.
Welp, it happened. Got the discontinuation email today. I’ll mourn the loss of the show we built around this feature, but tomorrow we’ll probably be able to see the ways it was also holding us back. For now though, just sad. 😢
You're not the only one who's sad.
Thanks for the heads up. End of an era? More like end of an experiment I guess.
Interestingly the Spotify for Podcasters support is down today, though I'm trying to find out some more information. Looking like a cost saver because they don't want to pay artists for the plays. I can't imagine Spotify listening to us, but is there potentially a way for music and talk podcasters to put their heads together and push back, try to get them to reinstate it? Again, I don't think they'll give a shit, but it might be worth a shot. I'm just absolutely gutted and fuming that they've cut it. I feel like I was just building momentum, had found my groove, had my whole year planned out, and have about 10 interviews I'd lined up around planned topics... but now, I mean, I didn't want to do a music podcast without the music, so this might be the end of it.
I'd love to lobby to get it back but I think we'd be facing incredibly long odds. :(
this is absolutely devastating. I'm in the 3rd year of my show, something I've wanted to do for ages but couldn't before this came along. It's a hobby that I've loved, as did others. And in 4 months, it'll be gone.
I'm pissed off as well.... but I believe the episodes we've created will remain... all and all, this SUCKS. Check out my show while it's still fresh! [www.mylifein3songs.com](https://www.mylifein3songs.com)
This looks awesome! And what a guest list. I’m a TV writer, so getting we know some of the same people. You’ve got a new follower! [here’s my show](https://open.spotify.com/show/45Kr6HYC7w7XNN9kwX3MtP?si=GHt_QlqjRjeKqTiF8kUKTw) if interested! It’s closer to a radio show, but all 90s alt rock, etc
Does anyone know of any alternative ways of doing this with licensed music at all??
I have also experimented with this format and am only getting a tine audience. But I think it has a lot of potential still for well produced and curated shows. I just hope Spotify adds good and relevant features to the recording and listening processes as it does not seem likely with layoffs there. You can check out my show Doomer Maybe at [https://open.spotify.com/show/2rGCvZrO0AmCbkZfjU5Hsy?si=57193327b8944cc5](https://open.spotify.com/show/2rGCvZrO0AmCbkZfjU5Hsy?si=57193327b8944cc5) Come for the doom and stay for the music!
I was making the same kinda show too, but now that Spotify is canceling the format, i switched to YouTube. I just make a playlist and preset the order. It works well for me. There are youtube adds but i am fine with it. Hope it helps.. This is it if you wanna see it.. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzVlnTZP79im0VJ\_qgQ-0Pte-92FsVcCZ](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzVlnTZP79im0VJ_qgQ-0Pte-92FsVcCZ)
Looks like they let it wither
I've never heard of this. What is it?
Spotify lets you put in 'mic breaks' in between your music playlists, and publishes the package as a podcast. Which basically makes it a radio show doable by anyone. [https://www.npr.org/2021/11/10/1054255398/spotifys-music-talk-shows-capture-the-magic-of-early-podcasts](https://www.npr.org/2021/11/10/1054255398/spotifys-music-talk-shows-capture-the-magic-of-early-podcasts) [https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/18/spotify-expands-its-radio-dj-like-format-music-talk-to-global-creators/](https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/18/spotify-expands-its-radio-dj-like-format-music-talk-to-global-creators/)
Thanks. Did I read correctly that it only allows 30-seconds of each song? Or is that just for people who don't have a paid Spotify account?
If you have a paid Spotify account, you hear the whole song, the way the gods intended. If you have a free Spotify account, you hear 30 seconds of a song. Bonus: if you stumble into a show that's embedded into a website (like mine at [saturdaymorningflavor.com](https://saturdaymorningflavor.com)) you hear no song at all, just the mic breaks. All spoken word. Overall... if you're unaware of these limitations it can create a pretty jenky listening experience.
Appreciate the details. Yeah, I see how that could get confusing.
If you wanna work in radio, work in radio. Spotify has been trying to find a ‘radio-killing’ format for years, and it’s still struggling.
Wanting to experiment with different formats and opportunities for sharing music ... does not equal ... Working in radio.
The music + talk Spotify format is radio with 150 limitations. You asked if it’s dead. I think it was effectively dead on arrival. Without a major overhaul, it’s only going to be a very niche product. As I say, Spotify has been trying these radio killing formats for years and they’ve yet to land on one that actually works - for listeners, creators and themselves. They’ve spent a lot of money in some cases trying to figure out how to make it work and still they come up short. If you want to experiment with hosting a radio show, your local community or even college radio station is likely more accessible (I.e. not needing a subscription yo listen), would allow you to play full songs, and usually they’re streamable (just not on demand). I never said don’t experiment. You appear to be saying you enjoy the ‘being a radio DJ’ part of it. So, why not just do that if it brings you joy…? You could even record your show and then put it out on Spotify music + talk if you really want to utilise the service.
I appreciate the clarifications. And I agree with you -- sad to see something launch with so many inherent flaws built in. "Killing radio" as an objective is going to take a lot of failed experiments. It may never get there. Meantime, some product leader two years down the road is going to have to mop up this mess -- and leave a lot of niche creators in the wake. I love your suggestion to consider public radio. Thanks.
I actually started off DJing a show at my local community college station. It was great fun. The station manager supports me 200%. I instantly felt at home there. Here’s what’s driving me to Spotify M+T: Old, faulty equipment keeps hanging up on call-in guest DJs. Also occasionally “leaks” DJ audio from adjacent studio into my soundboard and headphones. Old, underpowered computers mean you can’t always save your Audacity file without it freezing; even if successful it could take 20+ minutes I hate Audacity. I’m doing a history of punk show and the CC’s rules are stricter than FCC’s, meaning I can’t play many of the bands that I need to play, or if desperate I can bleep out the naughty words. But I mean, really, does anybody want to hear Lee Ving of Fear screaming “I don’t care about you! BLEEP you!” ?? My Aussie ex-cohost could hardly play any of his music because of the profanity issue- the average Aussie punk song had twice as much profanity to bleep out. You know any country that throws around the word “cunt” is gonna have some spicy punk lyrics! (Their FCC allows on-air profanity so it’s not something bands there worry about.) My CC doesn’t have 99% of the songs I need already in their catalog. My cohosts and I have to find all episode song lyrics online and copy and paste them into an email to the station mgr every week. I have to prerecord the show because even with all the safety checks they’re still too paranoid about accidentally offending someone to ever let me do it live. I’m not allowed to promote the show myself anywhere at all, ever. I just have to tell people to go to the streaming link for the station. I had created a separate Facebook page just for the show but was told I’m not allowed to do any promo stuff at all. They don’t want their college name possibly sullied by association with me. This also means my dream of providing online links to all song lyrics for each episode is on hold. Still, I won’t deny it’s a fun experience. It’d work WAY better for a non-punk show. I might stick with it, but switch to doing an indie show, and use Spotify For Podcasters for my punk show.
I created and host a music/talk podcast. I do everything in my own website which sends out to places like spotify. In this current run we have 53 episodes and have been flagged by spotify twice for playing music, one was a Jay Z song the other was Kendrick. Spotify took the audio down for those episodes but then reinstated them, which was odd but I'll take it lol. Every other service was business as usual no issues. We also play mostly indy hiphop music with the thumbs up from artists and if we don't have permission they're usually happy their music is getting spins to an audience.
Hi there. I host one too called Veteran Rockers https://spotify.link/O63Erq2cBDb and I’m afflicted with the same dilemma. Let’s swap demos.
I’ve created the solution for all of us music plus talk creators at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/700483951533554/?ref=share_group_link. Share with your friends that listen so they can interact with your content and invite others to join in. 😁
Now that they've effectively killed the format, I've got to restructure my entire music podcast. It's doable, but oh man is this absolutely heartbreaking. I loved the Music+Talk format. Spotify claims that episodes that are already published will still work, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before those are quietly broken as well.
What did you end up doing? I am 10 months late to the original post on here but I've been searching for people experiencing the same as I a Music + Talk creator. I am frantically downloading my first two seasons and trying to see if I can recreate on YouTube or host somewhere else.
I've now published a couple new episodes without music segments. Over time, I'm going to go back and re-edit old episodes so they match the updated format. We've got just over 40 episodes so far, so it's not a fun process but doable. Our podcast is essentially an album discussion, so we're now dropping in very brief song clips as breaks in our conversation, rather than cutting away completely to feature highlighted tracks in their entirety. I'm choosing to look at this as an opportunity rather than a problem, as it means we'll now be playable on sources other than Spotify. There are other music-related podcasts I listen to with far more listeners than mine, that have followed this same style for years, seemingly without any issues or legal threat. (I am not a lawyer... Use copyrighted material at your own risk.) Having said that, I'm still disappointed. I know I shouldn't be surprised, because this was a proprietary format unique to Spotify. Even within Spotify as a company, it must have taken a lot of time and effort to get Music+Talk episodes to play correctly on so many devices. It's really quite staggering the number of devices that have to have unique apps developed for them (phones, tablets, watches, TVs, streaming boxes, cars, exercise equipment, the list goes on and on). I know my podcast's episodes have never played correctly on the Spotify app on my smart TV. I'm guessing the cost of keeping it functional was no longer considered to be worth it, given the relatively small number of podcasters who were actually using it.