The Swedish streaming company revealed it has invested more than $10 billion in the podcast industry over the past five years. The money was used to increase creator earnings, grow listener engagement, and build podcast infrastructure.

Spotify is now lowering the entry requirements for its monetization program, one year after launching it, to allow more creators to earn from their content.

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Moreover, Spotify said it is adding new tools for video podcasters as competition grows with YouTube and Netflix.

“Since launching the program, monthly video podcast consumption on Spotify has nearly doubled,” said Spotify’s global head of podcast, Roman Wasenmuller.

He added that the average Spotify podcast user now watches twice as many video shows per month compared to before the launch.

Under the new rules, the creator needs ‘1,000 engaged listeners & 2,000 listening hours’ in the past 30 days and three published episodes. Earlier, the requirement was much higher.

Spotify said creators can earn from ads on free tiers and other platforms. Video podcasters get an extra income stream when premium users watch their content without ads.

The company will also introduce new sponsorship management tools in April. Creators will soon be able to publish and monetize video podcasts directly from third-party hosting platforms such as Acast, Audioboom, and Libsyn.

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Spotify also announced Spotify Sycamore Studios, a new home for The Ringer podcasts. The studios will also be available to selected creators.

Along with existing studios in London and New York, the new facility will help creators save costs on renting production spaces, said Spotify’s head of content partnerships, Jordan Newman.