Podcasts on Spotify Korea

[LukeButcher]

Plan

Premium Duo

Country

Korea

Device

Galaxy 10e

Operating System

Android

My Question or Issue

Hello everyone! 

Spotify launched in Korea today and so far I can search and find music, but none of the Podcasts I hoped would be on the platform that are available on other apps are working yet. Will they be coming or is there a rights issue?  

[user-removed]

You might write/link that podcasts so (maybe) employee of Spotify can look in to it.

[LukeButcher]

At the moment there are no podcasts at all on the app, not any specific ones

[user-removed]

Can confirm. None of the podcasts are available when searching and "Podcasts and shows" category is absent in "Browse all" section.

[Gogom12]

Attention Spotify Korea. We still do not have podcasts. It has been over three months. 

[CarlosE]

Hi there folks,

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community.

Due to translation and extensive product development, it is common to launch in markets without offering the full Spotify product range. That said, podcasts are an important part of Spotify. Although we can't set an exact timeframe, we are working to get our podcast offering up and running in South Korea as soon as we are able.

Hope this sheds some light on the matter. We'll be right here in case you need a hand with anything else.

Cheers 🙂

[tdlk1983]

Hi. Just checking in four months later... is there any update on this issue, or any estimate when podcasts will be available in South Korea? I plan to join premium sometime, but am waiting until podcasts are available, and until the Spotify app for Samsung Galaxy Watch is improved.

[podcast_now]

Is there a way to access the US podcast offerings as a subscriber in South Korea? I'm not asking for translations - just access to different country versions.  

[Eni]

Hey there @podcast_now,

Thanks for getting in touch about this.

We're afraid it's not possible to access other countries' podcast content since availability depends on various factors including licensing agreements and permissions from right holders.

Currently, podcasts aren't available in all regions. In this case, we'd recommend keeping an eye out on our Newsroom and your app up-to-date so that you don't miss it if the feature becomes available.

If you need a hand with anything else, the Community is here for you.

[bodohcollie]

It's been over an year since the launch in Korea and still no words on podcasts. How hard could it be to "localise" an existing feature virtually anywhere else in the world?

[8-gu2_wa5svo4]

Tbh, I don't think it is fair. It has been a while you started the service in korea and I am paying for it. 

The most annoying part is, It keeps letting me know there were new episodes uploaded and I can't even unsubscribe those shows ..... 

[spo_ti_fy_sucks]

So many podcasts were available through other services until they were bought by Spotify...... It's been over a year since you launched here... when will you make them available in Korea?

[Jaey_K]

Dear Spotify.

what is current status of launching Podcast in Korea? it's been over 1 years and just let us know that there will be someday.

let us know the real current status and please share your roll out plan.

Thanks.

[AnnoyedAmericaninKR]

Whelp, cancelling my subscription. Frustrating as fck. Why was my American account changed to a Korean one? I wouldn't mind if it werent for the fact that I lost access to all my podcasts. 

[Polinalee]

Is there any news on when the podcast feature would be launched in Korea? There are a few Spotify exclusive podcasts that I've been wanting to listen to and there is currently no way around it. It's been over a year and it's very frustrating. 

[Ley94]

I have been using Spotify since 2014 using a French account. Recently my account got switched to the Korean version and I cannot access podcasts. I understand that localisation is not an easy task, though the lack of planning and transparency is astonishing. With all due respect, it is unfair to pay the same fee for less services. It could be beneficial to consider the value we get as customers.

[_mistake]

Dear Spotify,

It's been well over a year since Spotify released in South Korea, and yet I'm not seeing any podcasts. Surely "localisation" and "translation" doesn't of a preexisting feature doesn't take over a year, especially when taking all the planning that you must have done before bringing Spotify to South Korea into account.

Why exactly are you making us pay the same amount of money as those in, let's say, the US, when we're not getting the same amount of features?? Point being, our subscription should be made cheaper if "contracts" exist, limiting us from listening to podcasts from other countries, as our money isn't being spent on that, and as mentioned, there are currently no podcasts in South Korea available on Spotify, which means none of our money is being spent on podcasts. 

Hope you actually take the amount of features we're getting into account when setting the price for these monthly subscriptions and thanks in advance.

[Polinalee]

Hey @Spotify,

At least time frame response would be nice. As other people have mentioned, it is not fair to charge the same subscription fee for less features

[ForbesAvila]

Do you have a plan or estimation or when this issue will be resolved?

[mint673]

Are they even listening to us now

Podcasts were one of the reason I used spotify and now that I can't listen to podcasts for so long I feel like they don't even care anymore.