The seven-year-old global podcast platform Acast is launching Acast+, “a raft of powerful subscription tools to support podcasters across the majority of open listening platforms” including Apple and Google.
Acast+ will enable podcasters to offer ad-free streams, exclusive content, and early access to paying subscribers.
Currently in beta, some founding partners are claimed to have seen an uplift in monthly revenue of more than 20% while trialling the new product service.
Henrik Ståhl, host of the health and wellbeing podcast Somna Med Henrik, says: “When Acast+ was first presented to me, I jumped at the chance to trial it. Apart from the obvious ability it creates for me to earn more money per listen to my podcast, it also lets me be closer to my listeners by offering private content specifically for them…I’ve experienced… a new way to generate income.”
Catherine Carr, producer of Talking Politics, in the UK, said: “We initially thought our Acast+ subscribers would be most interested in listening without adverts, and some are, but others are simply looking for a way to give back and support us…”
Acast – self-described as “the world’s largest podcast marketplace” – claims to host 20,000 podcasts reaching more than 300m monthly listeners. The Sweden-based company has so far raised funding of some $90m, including from the Bonnier media group, Rovio Entertainment group and the European Investment Bank.
