Music and podcast streaming platform Spotify has announced major updates for creators and users, including support for Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) technology for video podcasts and reduced Premium subscription prices in India.
The company said its podcast hosting platforms, Spotify for Creators and Megaphone, will now adopt Apple’s HLS streaming technology. This will make it easier for video podcasts hosted on Spotify platforms to also work smoothly on Apple Podcasts. Apple had earlier introduced support for HLS video podcasts with the launch of iOS 26.4.
HLS, developed by Apple, is a streaming protocol that improves video playback by breaking videos into smaller parts. This allows streaming quality to automatically adjust based on internet speed, helping reduce buffering. The technology also supports switching between video and audio-only playback, offline downloads, and dynamic ad insertion.
Spotify clarified that traditional RSS podcast feeds for audio-only podcasts will continue to remain supported for platforms that do not use HLS video streaming. While RSS remains an open standard for podcast distribution, HLS is proprietary technology owned by Apple. Some industry observers have raised concerns about large platforms gaining greater control over podcast ecosystems, while others believe common streaming standards could improve compatibility across apps.
The company is also expanding access to its podcast distribution API. Hosting platforms including Audioboom, Audiomeans, Podigee, Podspace, and Libsyn can now use Spotify’s API for video podcast distribution, monetisation tools, and analytics.
Alongside these creator-focused updates, Spotify has also revised its Premium pricing structure in India. The company has reduced the Standard Individual Premium plan to ₹139 per month from ₹199 and removed the Lite subscription tier.
Earlier, the ₹139 Lite plan came with restrictions such as lower audio quality and no offline downloads. With the updated pricing, users paying ₹139 will now receive the full Premium experience, including offline downloads and 320kbps high-quality audio streaming.
Spotify has also reduced its student subscription price to ₹69 per month from ₹99. However, there has been no pricing change for the Platinum plan. The revised plans are already available for new users across Spotify’s app and website.
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