Spotify said it has been reducing the number of explicit porn accounts on its video platform as they keep going to the top of the feed. The company denies that its new creator monetization program provides any money for these supposed porn accounts, meaning your best paid personalized porn option is still fans only.
If you find any weird images of porn appearing in Spotify searches, you are not alone. Bloomberg reports that searching for podcasts in management advice also came up with an account for podcast porn. The show in question includes an image of the screaming franchise Ghostface as the cover. According to Bloomberg, some porn accounts have caused waves in the usual 15 performances of TV and movies in the usual innocent categories.
In a statement, a Spotify spokesperson told Gizmodo: “As part of our platform rules, we do not allow for material that is explicit on the platform,” adding that the violation material has been removed. Bloomberg suggests that some of these porn accounts may have attracted the platform through green rather than just Spotify’s logo. The platform has been promoting video monetization initiatives for podcast and music video creators. Video manufacturers who sign up for the Spotify Partner Program and get approved can make money with advertising revenue, podcast subscriptions, and viewing their content based on the number of viewers.
A Spotify spokesman told Gizmodo that none of the supposed porn accounts are members of the Spotify Partner Program and have made money through advertising. Those who want to join the Partner Program must reach Spotify’s 10,000-hour threshold within 30 days and must be streamed by 2,000 unique Spotify users at that time. The company said none of these accounts met that threshold.
“Even if they are approved and upload content that is clear and clear, we can monitor it and delete it immediately,” the spokesperson said.
Porn has previously surfaced in users' Spotify searches. Whether it was in 2024 and earlier this year, some users released NSFW examples on Reddit. These appear before the start of the Partner Program. Spotify claims it deletes accounts that violate its security and privacy rules for “sexually explicit content.”
We did our own search of Spotify and found some accounts that provided dulcet tones for “oral sex tone”. We can easily find videos with clear thumbnails that point to porn, but only when actually searching for it. There are no examples when scrolling through the first 15 tracks of the main themes from “TV” to “Video Games”.
Content control is always difficult, and Spotify is not alone in fighting to prevent pornographic range platforms. Those who want to show porn and find themselves under Tiktok or YouTube may just be following the money. Spotify claims video podcast consumption is rising. It is speculated that some creators earn $10,000 or more per month in the months since the program was released.
But if you really start monetizing, why avoid the hassle of Spotify's examiners? We appreciate the hustle and bustle, but maybe we can keep Spotify as a place for more family-friendly topics, like Joe Rogan's regular Misinfo-a-Thons. Apart from Spotify being busy dealing with other scandals, such as the so-called human trafficker Andrew Tate’s podcast on “pimping Hoes.” The platform recently removed Tate’s podcast after President Donald Trump’s administration handed over a self-proclaimed misogynist to the United States, helping him avoid Romania’s prosecutors.
