Spotify today introduces a new feature designed to make podcasts more interactive. The company says it is starting to test "Polls," a tool that will allow listeners to interact with podcasts by answering questions posed by podcast guests during the show. The polls will appear in the Spotify app and can be found on the Now Playing screen or podcast episode page.
The user can then answer the question and see in real time how his answer stacks with the rest of the listener base. However, they will not be able to view the survey results without first participating themselves.
Participation in polls is entirely optional, Spotify says, and votes will remain anonymous.
In other words, the goal is not to accumulate individualized data about listeners, but rather to provide the podcast host with a way to better understand their audience. For example, a presenter could ask the audience to vote who should be the next guest, or they could ask them to resolve a debate that arose in the show. Surveys may also support a "pick one" or "choose more" option for responses to give them some flexibility.
Podcasts that support polls will only be able to feature one per episode, and each poll can only ask one question. But there's no limit to the total number of polls the podcast, in general, could include - the creator could offer a poll with each episode if they preferred.
At launch, the polls feature will only be available to a small group of beta testers, including The Rewatchables, Incredible Feats with Dan Cummins, and Crime Countdown. Spotify tells ProWellTech that it plans to integrate more Spotify Originals and Exclusive over time as the test progresses. But there is currently no specific ETA or timeline for that expansion.
The test will be launched for most Spotify listeners starting today, September 23. Spotify's entire user base will be able to see the polls later, the company says. This is considered the start of the beta because no other podcast has tested the feature before today's announcement.
This isn't the first feature Spotify has introduced to make its app the podcast player of choice.
In the past, the company has also rolled out support for podcast playlists, personalized daily podcast recommendations, editor-curated podcast suggestions, and most recently, video podcasts and podcast rankings. But where many of its other features have been designed to lure users to the Spotify app, the addition of Polls is also meant to please podcast creators, not just fans.
Spotify today has one of the largest podcast catalogs, now surpassing 1.5 million podcasts, thanks to its investments in acquiring podcast companies, such as Gimlet Media and Ringer, as well as podcast tools, such as Anchor.
The company, however, just lost one of its biggest podcast exclusive stars, Joe Budden, when it failed to come to terms with a new deal, even after offering the creator a significant raise.
Spotify has also faced the downside of its aggressive podcast acquisition strategy in recent days, as it has faced backlash over its exclusive $ 100 million deal with Joe Rogan. The podcast host leaked misinformation about the Oregon bushfires, which he later apologized for. But Spotify suffered abuse from listeners and bad PR when people learned of the problem.
That incident highlighted the difficulties with Spotify's "exclusive" strategy, where it's not just about buying access to a big star and his audience, but also the headaches they bring with them.
In the meantime, it continues to try to get more podcasters to join its platform by offering creative tools and features, like these new surveys.
During the test, the surveys will be available to 90% of users across all markets, on iOS and Android devices.