What Did Podnews Find at Spreaker?
Podnews, the daily podcast industry newsletter edited by James Cridland, reported on October 27, 2026 that Spreaker let anyone with a free account copy another podcast’s audio and metadata from its public RSS feed, keep the copy updated hourly and apply to run ads on it. Its headline called it “wholesale copyright theft for podcasts” (Podnews). Spreaker is a podcast hosting and advertising platform owned by iHeartMedia, which agreed to buy Spreaker’s parent company, Voxnest, in October 2020 (iHeartMedia).
According to Podnews, the import page carries no copyright notice or link to terms, does not check the owner’s contact details in the feed, and does not ask the original producer for confirmation. Podnews said it copied its own Podnews Daily feed in minutes and could have submitted the copy to directories, but did not. It then applied to monetize a show titled “Test”; it said the application was approved “By 10.30am central European time,” after which it could put “prerolls and postrolls automatically into the content,” with ads also placed automatically at silences mid-show (Podnews).
To size the problem, Podnews queried a Podcast Index database snapshot downloaded on Saturday, October 24. It counted a show as copied when the same podcast appeared on Spreaker and on another host with the same number of episodes, both versions were in Apple Podcasts, and the original was not on Librivox, the public-domain audiobook project. That method found 1,778 shows (Podnews). Podnews’s daily news summary described it as “more than 1,700” duplicated shows from publishers including PodcastOne, Vox Media, Goalhanger and SiriusXM (Podnews).
The count is Podnews’s own analysis. We did not rerun its query, and no other outlet had published an independent count when we read the story, so the 1,778 figure should be read as single-source.
Which Shows Were Copied?
Podnews named copies of large, ad-supported shows from many of the best-known podcast publishers. It said a copy of the Adam Carolla Show, with its author changed to “juyio,” appeared to date from September 19, 2026 and still carried the latest episodes. Other copies it found included Bloomberg News Now, Canadian True Crime, Crime Junkie, Crime Weekly, Criminal, two copies of History Hit, Hidden Brain, In The Dark, Morbid, Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing, Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce and The Rest Is Politics (Podnews).
Podnews said Apple Podcasts had removed some copies but many remained, so a listener searching Apple can see two versions of the same show. The list matters for companies that do not publish a podcast too: a brand that sponsors one of these shows, or an executive who appeared as a guest, can now be heard in a version of that episode the original publisher does not control and does not earn from.
What Do Spreaker’s Own Pages Say?
Spreaker’s help pages describe a feed importer built for moving your own show, and rules that ban infringement, but the pages we read do not describe any ownership check before an import or before ads are switched on. The table sets what each page says beside what Podnews reported. The comparison is our own reading of the pages on October 27, 2026.
| Step | What Spreaker’s page says | What Podnews reported |
|---|---|---|
| Import | Paste “your current host’s RSS feed” into the RSS Feed Importer; import takes “just a couple of minutes” (importer help). No ownership step is described. | Any public feed could be imported; the feed’s owner email was not checked and the owner was not notified. |
| Ongoing copying | A box lets new episodes on “your original hosting website” “automatically publish on Spreaker as well” (importer help). | The platform can “automatically check every hour for new episodes,” keeping a copy “perpetually up to date.” |
| Ads | Each show is “reviewed by our editorial team to ensure that the contents is within the standards”; once approved it will “automatically start generating revenue” (Ad Exchange approval). No timeline or rights check is listed. | Podnews applied while Spreaker’s “mostly European staff were asleep”; a show clearly titled “Test” was approved “By 10.30am central European time.” |
| Rules | “It’s your responsibility to obtain all the necessary permissions to upload non-original content”; infringement means deletion and termination “with no prior notice” (community rules). | Spreaker said its Community Rules are “included in the Terms of Service every creator accepts at sign-up” and that it takes “appropriate actions whenever a violation of our terms of service is found.” |
| Lock tag | Not mentioned on the importer page. | Spreaker said it honors podcast:locked in its importer; Podnews said Spreaker does not appear to let its own users add the tag. |
Spreaker’s pages are dated September 10, 2025 (importer and Ad Exchange) and October 31, 2025 (community rules), so they predate the report. The community rules page does not describe how a rights holder reports a copy.
Who Earns When a Copy Runs Ads?
The uploader and Spreaker can earn from a copy; the original publisher earns nothing from it. Podnews said Spreaker’s terms let it keep up to 41% of ad revenue (Podnews). Spreaker’s terms page did not render its text for us, so we could not confirm the percentage at the source, and it should be treated as Podnews’s reading of the terms.
On that figure, our own arithmetic for each $100 of ad revenue a copy earns:
| Party | Share of $100 in ad revenue on a copy | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Spreaker | Up to $41 | Podnews’s reading of Spreaker’s terms |
| Uploader of the copy | About $59 or more | Our arithmetic: the remainder |
| Original publisher | $0 | Plays of a copy do not reach the original’s host or ad server |
Podnews made the same point about measurement: plays of a copy do not count toward the original’s downloads, earn the original no ad revenue and can work against it in charts, and listeners who follow the copy by mistake give it their ratings and reviews. It added that ads Spreaker inserts may be wrong for the original show’s audience (Podnews). For a sponsor, that means a host-read ad bought on the real show can be replayed next to programmatic ads it never approved, in a feed whose downloads never appear in the publisher’s report. Our guide on reading podcast analytics in Apple and Spotify explains which numbers a sponsor is actually shown.
Can a Copied Show Outrank the Original?
It can chart, because Apple’s charts reward new followers, and one creator said a copy of her show charted within five days. Lisa Lacy, host of Notes From the Edge, wrote in Podnews on October 27 that “Within five days, an unauthorized copy of my podcast had appeared across multiple platforms” and that it reached #121 on Apple’s US Personal Journals chart, where “My official podcast was #1.” She also wrote, “I cannot independently confirm the precise method used to create the unauthorized account” (Podnews). Lacy has founded a paid service, PodProtect, which her piece promotes; that is a commercial interest readers should weigh.
Our explainer on how podcast charts work covers why follows, not total audience, move Apple’s rankings, which is why a duplicate that catches mistaken follows can appear in a chart at all.
Has This Happened Before?
Yes. Podnews has documented the same weakness at other hosts for six years, which is why the industry built a lock tag. The timeline below is drawn from Podnews’s own archive.
| Date | What was reported |
|---|---|
| October 6, 2020 | Podnews showed Anchor’s import let a user copy another show’s audio, artwork and metadata without verifying an email or ownership; Anchor called it unintended (Podnews). |
| February 2, 2022 | Google Podcasts pointed listeners of All-In to a duplicate with ads; Google’s Danny Sullivan said it had “mistakenly pointed to a duplicate version,” and the copy was reported to be held on Spreaker (Podnews). |
| October 24, 2026 | Podnews downloaded the Podcast Index snapshot behind its count of 1,778 copies (Podnews). |
| October 27, 2026 | Podnews published the Spreaker investigation and Lacy’s account; Spreaker issued a statement (Podnews). |
The defense the industry settled on is the podcast:locked tag. The Podcast Namespace, the open set of Podcasting 2.0 RSS tags maintained by Podcast Index, says the tag tells “other podcast hosting platforms whether they are allowed to import this feed,” and that “A value of yes means that any attempt to import this feed into a new platform should be rejected” (Podcast Namespace). It is a request to other hosts, not an enforcement mechanism: it works only where the importing host checks it. Spreaker says it does; Podnews said the tag is “not supported by many podcast hosts quite yet” and that Spreaker “doesn’t appear to let you add it to your own podcast.”
What This Means for Anyone Buying a Podcast Placement
A company that sponsors a show, books a guest spot or runs its own branded podcast should check for copies itself, because neither the platforms nor the host will tell it one exists. Our recommendations, not platform rules:
- Lock your own feed. If your company publishes a podcast, ask the host to set podcast:locked to yes. Our guide on protecting a podcast from hijacking covers the tag, show claims and feed email in steps, and our guide on moving a podcast to a new host explains when you need to unlock it.
- Search for the show by name in Apple Podcasts and Spotify and compare publisher, artwork and episode counts. Two listings with identical episodes and different authors is the pattern Podnews describes.
- Report copies to the platform and the host. Apple says it “will contact the provider of the disputed content” through its Podcast Content Dispute form (Apple), and Spotify takes copyright notices at its report-content form (Spotify). Both require you to own the rights or act for the owner. A guest or sponsor who does not own the audio should ask the publisher to file. For copies of show pages or transcripts in Google results, see our guide on reporting copied content to Google.
- Ask sponsors’ reports where downloads came from. If a campaign underdelivers on a show that has a copy, the missing audience may sit in a feed the publisher cannot measure.
Methodology and Limitations
Four limits apply. First, the count of 1,778 copies and the account of the import and ad-approval tests are Podnews’s; we did not rerun its database query or repeat its test. Second, the 41% revenue share is Podnews’s reading of Spreaker’s terms, which did not render for us. Third, Spreaker’s help pages were last updated in 2025 and may not reflect changes made after the report. Fourth, a duplicate is not automatically infringing: a show may have been moved or mirrored with the owner’s permission, which Podnews’s matching method cannot tell apart from a copy. We read every page cited on October 27, 2026.
Conclusion
The uncomfortable point for buyers is that a podcast’s audience is only as protected as the least careful host that will accept its feed. Spreaker’s rules forbid infringement, and it says it honors the lock tag, but the steps it publishes for importing and monetizing a show do not ask who owns it. Until hosts check ownership before an import, the burden of finding copies falls on the publisher, and the cost of missing them falls on the publisher’s sponsors as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone copy my podcast onto another host?
Yes, if the host imports public RSS feeds without checking ownership. Podnews reported on October 27, 2026 that Spreaker’s importer let a free account copy any public feed and keep it updated hourly.
How many podcasts were copied onto Spreaker?
Podnews counted 1,778 shows on Spreaker that matched a show on another host episode for episode, using a Podcast Index snapshot from October 24, 2026. The count is Podnews’s own analysis and excludes Librivox audiobooks.
What did Spreaker say about the copied podcasts?
Spreaker told Podnews it “does not encourage or condone the uploading of content by anyone who doesn’t have the rights to it,” that it takes “appropriate actions” on violations, and that it honors the podcast:locked tag in its importer.
Does the podcast:locked tag stop copying?
It asks hosts to reject imports of a feed, and it works only where the importing host checks it. Spreaker says it honors the tag; Podnews said it is not yet supported by many podcast hosts.
How do I report a copied podcast?
Use Apple’s Podcast Content Dispute form for Apple Podcasts and Spotify’s report-content form for Spotify, and contact the copy’s host. Only the rights holder or its authorized agent should file. This is not legal advice.
Do downloads of a copied show count for the original?
No. Podnews said plays of a copy do not count toward the original’s downloads or earn it ad revenue, and can count against it in charts.
Sources and Methodology
This explainer is built from Podnews’s October 27, 2026 investigation and a first-person account it published the same day, Spreaker’s own help pages, the Podcast Namespace specification, Apple’s and Spotify’s copyright pages, iHeartMedia’s 2020 acquisition announcement and two earlier Podnews reports. The comparison table, revenue split and timeline are our own analysis. Recommendations are ours, not platform rules. We did not test Spreaker’s importer. All sources were read October 27, 2026.
- trade press Podnews, Spreaker is enabling wholesale copyright theft for podcasts. Investigation, 1,778 count, named shows, Spreaker statement, 41% share. Read October 27, 2026.
- trade press Podnews, Someone Copied My Podcast. Five Days Later, It Was Already Charting.” by Lisa Lacy. Creator account, chart positions. Read October 27, 2026.
- trade press Podnews, The podcast hoster helping people to copy your show,” October 27, 2026. “More than 1,700” summary and publisher names. Read October 27, 2026.
- platform documentation Spreaker Help Center, How to import your podcast with the RSS Feed Importer. Import and automatic import wording. Read October 27, 2026.
- platform documentation Spreaker Help Center, Ad Exchange approval process. Review and monetization wording. Read October 27, 2026.
- platform documentation Spreaker Help Center, Spreaker’s Community Rules. Copyright rule and consequences. Read October 27, 2026.
- standards Podcast Index, Podcast Namespace, “Locked. podcast:locked definition. Read October 27, 2026.
- official Apple, Podcast Content Dispute. Apple’s dispute route. Read October 27, 2026.
- official Spotify, Copyright Policy. Spotify’s notice route. Read October 27, 2026.
- official iHeartMedia, iHeartMedia To Acquire Voxnest. Ownership of Spreaker’s parent, October 23, 2020. Read October 27, 2026.
- trade press Podnews, How to pirate someone else’s podcast onto Anchor. 2020 precedent. Read October 27, 2026.
- trade press Podnews, Google switches podcasts to pirate copies. 2022 precedent. Read October 27, 2026.