Spotify has just announced a new feature called “Plays” — a public listener count on podcast episodes — and small, independent creators are already raising red flags.

“Hey!!! As one of your biggest creators — WE DONT WANT THIS! This is going to hurt so many podcasts,”  “The Psychology of your 20s” podcast, which has almost 200,000 followers on Instagram, wrote on Spotify’s post announcing the news.

While Spotify claims this will promote transparency, many podcasters fear it will disadvantage smaller shows, discourage discovery, and amplify only the biggest names.

As one podcaster told NBC News, “No one’s going to listen to a show that has 46 plays next to a show that has 46,000.”

“Public metrics don’t support the creator community — they discourage experimentation and amplify comparison. This doesn’t help us grow; it makes us hesitate,” another podcaster wrote.

That’s the risk: a feature that looks neutral but actually drives listeners away from emerging creators, regardless of content quality.

We’re calling on Spotify to cancel or rethink the “Plays” feature before it rolls out to the public

Consult with small podcasters to understand the real impact of visibility tools. Especially how to protect podcast discovery for all creators — not just those with massive audiences.
 

Podcasting became a cultural force because everyone could be heard. That openness made it great. A “plays” counter could change that — and not for the better.