• by Fern Siegel , September 5, 2023

Spotify has altered its ad policies.

The company has made changes to its Ambassador Ads program, which pays creators to reads ads promoting its content. White-noise podcasters, those that produce relaxing sounds, such as rain or static, won’t be eligible come Oct. 1, Bloomberg reports.

The reason? Ambient playlists don’t engage active listeners, though the podcasters are estimated to make up to $18,000 a month.

The decision is part of an effort to increase overall profits.

These creators can still make money via paid subscribers or automated ads, which place third-party ads.

To update the Ambassador Ads program, Spotify says podcasters must have 1,000 unique Spotify listeners over the past two months. Hosts that participate in the Automated Ads program can split revenue with the streamer 50-50.

In June, Spotify reported 220 million premium subscribers and 551 million monthly active users, a 27% increase over the same period last year. In a July 25 earnings report, Spotify said average revenue per user was approximately $4.72, a 6% decline YoY.

It also announced plans to lay off 6% of its global workforce in June.

In addition, Spotify will raise prices in the U.S., as well as other global markets. That decision is in line with price hikes from rivals, such as Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music Premium.