To become a Spotify creator for podcasts, sign in at creators.spotify.com with any Spotify account and choose Add a new show. From there you either create a show that Spotify hosts for free and publishes to Spotify automatically, or, if the show already lives with another host, claim it with its RSS feed and the 8-digit code Spotify emails to the address in that feed.
Spotify for Creators is the current name for what used to be Spotify for Podcasters, and before that Anchor. This walkthrough covers publishing and show management as described in Spotify's help center on 1 October 2026. Earning money through Spotify is a separate topic and is not covered here.
Before you sign up: account, age and verification
- You need a Spotify account; a free one is enough, and every teammate you invite later needs their own.
- Spotify's age eligibility page bars anyone under 13 and requires parental or guardian consent for users below the age of majority, which is often 18.
- The account has to be verified by email before you can publish your first episode or video, so check the inbox you signed up with.
- Use a show-specific email address. If you later switch on the RSS feed, that address becomes public, and some directories use it to confirm ownership.
Host on Spotify or claim from another host?
The first screen asks the question that shapes everything after it. Spotify's new show article describes two paths: create a new show, which Spotify hosts, or find an existing show hosted on Buzzsprout, Libsyn, Podbean or anywhere else.
| Question | Host with Spotify for Creators | Claim a show hosted elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Who stores the files | Spotify, with no hosting fee | Your existing host, on its own pricing |
| Getting onto Spotify | Automatic when you publish | Submit or claim using the feed URL |
| Apple Podcasts and other apps | Switch on the RSS feed, then submit to each app yourself | Already served by your host's feed |
| Video episodes | Uploaded on the web; play as video on Spotify only and as audio everywhere else | Swap audio episodes for video inside Spotify for Creators, or publish through a host that uses Spotify's Distribution API |
| Analytics | Spotify plays plus downloads and audience from other platforms | Spotify consumption only; downloads stay with your host |
| Leaving later | A 301 redirect set from Settings on the web | Update the feed link in Spotify settings when you change hosts |
The distribution row is the easiest to miss. Spotify's distribution article is explicit that a Spotify-hosted show reaches other apps only when you submit it to each one, and that video stays on Spotify. If those trade-offs matter, compare paid hosts in the podcast hosting comparison before committing.
Setup checklist for a show Spotify hosts
- Log in at creators.spotify.com, open your avatar menu, choose Add a new show and then Create a new show.
- Confirm the verification email so publishing unlocks.
- Click New episode and select a file. Spotify's audio publishing guide accepts MP3, M4A and WAV in mono or stereo; video in MOV, MPG or MP4 can only be uploaded from the website.
- Add the title and description, complete the content checks, and fill in season, episode number and episode artwork under Additional details.
- Publish now or schedule a time; scheduled times display in your local time zone and can be reverted to draft.
- For the trailer, choose Trailer as the episode type so it sits at the top of your show page.
- Add show art from Settings with Update show art; Spotify's cover art article says changes usually show within 24 hours. Sizes are listed in the podcast cover art guide.
- After the first episode, open Settings, then Availability, and find RSS Distribution. Enable the feed and add your email to it, accepting that the address becomes public.
- Submit the feed to Apple Podcasts and any other apps, then paste your Apple Podcasts link into the same Availability settings so it shows on your profile.
- Optionally set a custom profile URL, which Spotify allows once at least one episode is published.
- Invite co-hosts or editors from Settings, then Team, on the web, choosing their access level separately for episodes, analytics, monetization, comments and settings.
Claiming a show you host elsewhere
Choose Find an existing show, then Somewhere else, and paste the RSS feed or Spotify show URL. Spotify sends a code to the email address in the feed; paste it in and you become the show's admin. Each show can be claimed only once, so if someone already claimed it, perhaps a former producer, the existing admin has to add you. If the code never arrives, Spotify's RSS email article says to correct the address through your host, allow a couple of hours for Spotify to notice, and contact support if it still has not updated after 4 hours.
Claiming unlocks comments, polls, detailed analytics, trailers, previews, transcripts and chapters for your Spotify listing. Video is possible too: Spotify for Creators can replace an audio episode's file with a video version on Spotify only, as long as the video carries the episode audio, and some hosts can deliver video directly through Spotify's Distribution API. For a show hosted elsewhere, the trailer is chosen from existing episodes in Settings rather than uploaded.
First-week fixes and settings worth checking
Several launch-week worries on Spotify come from predictable issues, and each has a documented cause.
| Problem | What Spotify says | What to do | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The new show is missing from Spotify search | New shows usually appear after a few hours, and search placement is influenced by play count | Share the direct show link until listeners start finding it | Search article |
| An episode is live on Spotify but not in other apps | New or updated episodes usually reach other platforms within a few hours, but can take up to 24 | Wait a day, then check the feed and contact the other platform | Distribution article |
| The show appears in apps you never submitted to | Some apps scrape public feeds, and Spotify cannot remove those listings | Contact that app directly if you want the listing gone | RSS feed article |
| The show sits in the wrong category | Categories come from the itunes:category field, your own choice at setup and editorial curation | Fix the category in Settings or in your host's feed | Categories article |
| A long video upload keeps failing | There is no stated size cap, but large files take longer and are more likely to fail if the connection drops | Upload from a wired connection, or export a smaller file | Video publishing |
Two settings are worth a look in the first week. Transcripts, where your show has them, can be switched on or off and, through a separate toggle, sent to other apps in your RSS feed; Spotify's transcript article also explains how to download a VTT file, correct it and upload it again. Chapters can be generated automatically, and Spotify's chapters article describes AI-written chapter hooks that some listeners see, which you can turn off for an episode or the whole show if they misrepresent the content.
What Spotify for Creators no longer does
Older tutorials describe recording straight into the Anchor app. That workflow has gone. Spotify's creation tools update lists the removed features: Record with Friends, Music + Talk, voice messages and the episode builder with its recording, editing, background music and sound effects. Ad segments can still be placed with the waveform tool, and the old library moved to Settings, under More actions, where you can download past recordings. For new episodes, record elsewhere and upload the finished file, or use the Riverside integration from the web version, which Spotify notes is English only.
Where your analytics live
Show-level numbers sit under Analytics, split into Overview, Audience, Discovery and Engagement, and each episode has the same tabs. According to Spotify's overview analytics article, benchmarks comparing an episode with your normal range appear only once you have 10 episodes published, and most figures refresh every 15 minutes while some take up to 48 hours. Data downloads as CSV from the web version. Under Spotify's analytics glossary, a play counts only after 30 seconds, which is not how a host counts a download, so read the podcast analytics glossary before comparing dashboards.
Moving a show in or out
Moving in. Spotify's switching guide starts from Settings and Host with Spotify for Creators for a claimed show, or from the Switch page otherwise. Wait for the import to finish, copy the new Spotify feed, paste it into your old host's redirect field and use Check redirect status. Skipping the redirect means new episodes never reach existing followers in other apps. Download the old host's statistics first, because they do not carry over, and cancel the old host only once the redirect is confirmed.
Moving out. Import the episodes into the new host, then use Redirect your podcast in Settings on the web; the app cannot do it. Spotify's redirect article says the redirect can take up to 7 days and recommends keeping the account for at least a week afterwards. Turn off any Spotify subscriptions first. If you ever want to come back, you will need a new Spotify for Creators account and a fresh switch. To publish the same show on YouTube as well, follow the guide to uploading a podcast to YouTube.
Limitations
This walkthrough follows Spotify's United States help center, and menus, wording and feature availability can differ by country and by account. Several features, including transcripts and automatic chapters, are rolling out and may not appear on your show yet. Spotify changes its creator tools often, as the removal of the recording tools shows, so if a button described here has moved, the linked help article is the current authority. If you need the broader launch sequence across every directory, start with the podcast launch checklist.