Spotify launches podcast subscription platform to challenge Apple

FILE PHOTO: The Spotify logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Spotify launched on Tuesday a paid subscription platform for podcasters in the United States and plans to expand in other regions in the coming months, a week after Apple unveiled a similar service.

A podcaster could mark episodes as subscriber-only and publish them on Spotify and other podcast listening platforms, the company said in a statement.