Image Credit: Anchor

Spotify introduce star ratings to podcasts on the mobile app, a great feature for new and existing listeners, as well as podcast creators.

With more than 3.2 million podcasts available, Spotify have recently been prioritizing podcast discovery with features like Podcast Charts and personalized recommendations helping listeners find their next favourite show. Rolling out starting this week, Spotify’s new star rating system improves podcast discoverability by highlighting shows’ popularity, gives a way for existing listeners to support their favourite shows and lets creators know how they’re being received. The feature enables a two-way feedback loop between creator and listener.

After listening to at least 30 seconds of an episode, users will be able to tap the rating or the three dots below the cover art to rate the show between one and five stars. After at least ten ratings, the average rating, as well as the total number of ratings will be displayed on the podcast’s show page. This is a great way for creators to gain a big-picture view of how they’re doing.

Image Credit: Anchor

It’s important to make a good first impression. Being displayed on the podcast’s main page, for listeners deciding when to try a new podcast, ratings are crucial for your show’s success. Prior to this update, as the largest platform with ratings, podcasters have always stated how rating their show on Apple Podcasts is a great way to boost metrics and support the show. With Spotify introducing a similar feature, the same is now true of the most popular overall platform in the US. If you’re a podcast creator, be sure to tell your audience about ratings. Anchor & Spotify provide some ideas on how to update your audience. Be sure to tailor the following to your show’s voice and tone:

  • “Thank you so much for listening to [show name]. Make sure to rate us everywhere you listen to podcasts, including Spotify.”
  • “Thank you for listening to our show. If you like what you’re hearing, make sure to rate our show on Spotify.”
  • “Do you like this show? Let us know by leaving us a rating on our Spotify show page.”

Podcast ratings are rolling out over the coming days on the Spotify iOS and Android app. Ratings will be available in nearly all markets where podcasts are on Spotify, except Russia and Turkey at launch.