Spotify announced on 17 September that its Partner Program, which pays podcasters a share of ad revenue and Premium video revenue, is coming to more than 35 new markets. Its support page lists 37 countries and a start date of 20 October 2026. None of them is African, and none of the 19 markets where the programme already runs is African either.
What changed
In a post on the Spotify newsroom dated 17 September, the company said it is "bringing the program to more than 35 new markets", naming Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia among them. Spotify calls it "our largest expansion yet". That is the company's own description.
The Spotify for Creators support page gives the date. It says the programme and Premium video revenue "will become available on October 20th, 2026" in 37 listed countries: six in Europe, 21 in North America and the Caribbean, and 10 in South America. The same page lists the 19 markets where it is available now, in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
No country in Africa appears on either list. Neither the announcement nor the support page explains why, or says when African markets might be added. The support page says only: "These markets may change from time to time."
Who it affects
The market list is not a formality. To apply, Spotify's support page says a show must "Have a legal address in one of the above eligible markets". It adds: "You can't apply for the Spotify Partner Program if you're not in an eligible market." A creator based in Lagos, Nairobi or Johannesburg cannot qualify by growing a bigger audience.
For creators who are in an eligible market, the entry bar is unchanged from the lower thresholds Spotify introduced in January. A show must be hosted on Spotify for Creators, have at least three published episodes, and reach 2,000 consumption hours and an audience count of 1,000 on Spotify in the last 30 days. To stay in, a show must publish an episode and earn at least $10 in any six-month period. Spotify says shows on its enterprise host Megaphone should ask their representative, and shows on other hosts should ask their provider.
What the money is
The support page says members earn "a 50% share of the revenue recognized every time an ad monetized by Spotify (as part of the Spotify Partner Program) plays in your episodes", on and off Spotify. When Premium members in select markets watch a show's video episodes, dynamic ads are removed and the creator is instead paid through what Spotify calls a "proprietary payment formula". Creators keep 100 per cent of their own sponsorship income, according to the announcement.
Spotify also says that since it widened eligibility this year, "total monthly payouts to enrolled shows have increased by more than a third", and that participating video shows grew consumption hours by "more than 45%" on average. Those are Spotify's own figures, and it has not published the underlying data.
Why it matters here
Airtime reported in July that Spotify's January threshold cut named no African market. Two months later, the programme's biggest rollout still leaves the continent out. African podcasters can still publish on Spotify and sell sponsorships directly, but Spotify-managed ad revenue and Premium video payouts remain unavailable to them. The technology site TechSudor made the same point, noting that alternatives "are not equivalent to direct access" to those revenue streams.
For creators choosing where to host, that affects how they compare options such as African hosting platforms. It is worth checking the Monetize page in Spotify for Creators rather than relying on any published list, because Spotify says eligibility criteria and markets can change.