Well, Apple spent the week enjoying most of the spotlight on its new Apple Podcast subscription service. After Apple announced plans in May to launch a service that will allow users to purchase ad-free content and bonus episodes for a fee, Spotify announced plans to offer its own paid podcast subscription service to users.

In a coup for Apple, Spotify has already launched a podcast subscription service, at least in the United States. The company announced in February that it would test paid subscriptions. One can only assume that, pushed by Apple's announcement, Spotify has concluded that the time for testing is over.

Spotify will start the new service with 12 podcasters, but promises to add more in the future and encourages other podcasters to sign up for a waiting list. Podcasts will range in price from $2.99 to $7.99, with the podcasters themselves setting the price.

One major difference between the Spotify and Apple-launched podcast services is that Spotify does not intend to take a commission from subscription revenues for the first two years of service. After two years, Spotify will collect 5% from subscription revenues. In contrast, Apple plans to collect 30% from the subscription service initially, dropping to 15% in the second year.

Spotify's paid podcasts can be found on the platform through search, as can free episodes. The difference is that paid content is locked if you don't have a subscription; Spotify plans to manage its paid podcast program through its podcast production platform Anchor, which it acquired in 2019. Subscribers will support paid programming through their Anchor profile page and outside of Spotify.

Podcasters will be able to choose which episodes to upload only to Spotify subscribers before publishing. It will also support people using other publishing platforms to stream shows only to Spotify subscribers using their login information; Spotify will announce further details to interested parties soon.

It is interesting to contrast these details with Apple Podcast Subscriptions, which will launch next month at an undisclosed price. Apple promises that the service will offer ad-free episodes, exclusive content, and early and exclusive access to new series.

Apple Podcast Subscriptions will launch in 170 countries and regions, Apple said. This is in contrast to Spotify, which has so far limited its subscription podcasts to the United States.