Tag: subscriptions

Spotify Takes In-Flight Entertainment to the Skies With New United Airlines Partnership

Spotify and United are teaming up to deliver an even more entertaining in-flight travel experience. Starting today, more than 450 hours of Spotify-curated playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks can be enjoyed for free from over 130,000+ seatback screens, many of which offer stunning 4K quality and Bluetooth audio compatibility.

This marks the first time we’ve offered audiobooks and video podcasts onboard an airline, giving United flyers access to a curated selection of titles, including Good Hang with Amy Poehler, The Dave Chang Show, and The Comment Section with Drew Afualo.

“Spotify has a huge audience and people love their content. And now our customers can enjoy it all in a simple and easy way, at 35,000 feet,” said Richard Nunn, CEO of MileagePlus. “Together, we’re giving millions of customers an entirely new way to experience and explore premium content from the world’s most popular artists, authors, and podcasters, all while flying with the latest technology in the sky.” 

Additionally, on Starlink-equipped aircraft, travelers can stream Spotify content on their personal devices from gate to gate without interruption—free of charge. All they need to do is log in to their MileagePlus accounts and accept the terms and conditions for using Starlink. From there, travelers will be able to open their Spotify apps and stream content, just like they do at home.

To celebrate the launch, MileagePlus members who are new to Spotify Premium Individual can sign up for a subscription and earn up to 1,000 bonus miles.  To see more and learn how to redeem the offer, visit spotify.com/ppt/united

But this is just the start of what we have planned. In 2026, United passengers will be able to use their personal devices to log in to the Spotify app on the in-flight entertainment screen. This will allow passengers to enjoy their favorite personalized content on the seatback so they can pick up their favorite podcasts, music, and audiobooks from right where they left off.

“As a frequent United flyer myself, it’s incredibly exciting to see Spotify now available on the world’s largest airline,” said Ian Geller, VP Business Development, Spotify. “At Spotify, we’re dedicated to being everywhere our users are, giving creators opportunities to reach new platforms and engage different audiences. I’m especially looking forward to bringing an even more personalized app streaming experience to seatbacks next year.”

To learn more about our partnership with United, visit united.com/spotify.

Spotify and Substack Partner To Bring Even More Podcasts to Listeners

At Spotify, we always want to deliver more value for podcast creators and their fans. That’s why we’re excited to announce a new integration with Substack. Beginning today, Substack podcast creators globally can distribute their free and gated content to Spotify for the first time, and fans worldwide can listen to top Substack podcasts where they’re already listening to their favorite audio content. 

Substack joins a growing list of publishers and platforms offering subscriber-based content powered by Spotify Open Access, including Bankless, Dateline NBC, The Economist, Freakonomics Radio, Patreon, Supercast, Supporting Cast, The Wall Street Journal, and more. For podcast creators, the Spotify Open Access API brings an expanded opportunity to offer premium audio subscriptions to Spotify’s 602 million monthly active users.

“Spotify Open Access enables creators to grow their businesses while maintaining full control of their subscriber relationships. Our new integration with Substack empowers their creators to reach new and existing audiences where they listen most while giving Spotify listeners access to some of the world’s foremost content,” said Stephanie Shaer, Head of Partner Strategy and BD at Spotify.

With this new integration, premium podcast episodes from Substack shows like Rich Text, Split Zone Duo, and Culture Study are now available on Spotify for the first time. Emma Gray, cohost of Rich Text, a Substack podcast and newsletter about culture and entertainment, said, “We are truly so excited for our incredible community to be able to access the full breadth of our podcast offerings right on Spotify.”

“Just about everything I listen to, I listen to on Spotify,” said Alex Kirshner of Split Zone Duo, a college football podcast and newsletter on Substack. “I know I’m one of many. We’re very excited to be able to reach people on a ubiquitous platform and provide an ideal experience for our most important customers: our subscribers.”

Culture Study host Anne Helen Petersen shared, “I love feeling like we’re able to give supporters of the show a little (or a big!) treat with our subscriber content, which will now be even easier right on Spotify.”

With just a few clicks, podcast creators on Substack can add Spotify distribution to their podcasts to grow their audiences while retaining full control over their subscriber bases, their content, and their revenue. Once a creator enables distribution to Spotify from Substack, listeners can link their Substack and Spotify accounts or become subscribers through Substack to unlock access. 

Whether through Substack or any of our integrated membership platforms, if you subscribe to a podcaster’s paid show, we encourage you to connect your accounts to enjoy your favorite paid shows on Spotify.