Spotify debuts charts for top and trending podcasts

If you’re a Spotify user trying to keep tabs on the latest and greatest in podcasts, good news: the music streaming giant is queuing up a pair of podcast charts that will highlight trending and popular shows.

Spotify’s new Top Podcasts and Trending Podcasts charts are slated to go live today in 26 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., and Australia.

Both the Top Podcasts and Trending Podcasts charts can be found by tapping the Search button in the iOS and Android versions of Spotify. Once you’re there, tap the Podcasts tile, then tap Podcast Charts.

The Trending Podcasts chart will feature an algorithm-driven ranking of 50 “fastest-climbing” and “of-the-moment” podcasts that should come in handy for Spotify users on the lookout for a new show. The chart includes the name and publisher of each ranked podcast, along with cover art and green arrows for podcasts that are surging in the rankings.

Spotify

Meanwhile, the Top Podcasts chart ranks the top 200 most enduring podcasts based on the sheer volume of listeners, and it’s “geared for stability and integrity” as opposed to the more volatile Trending Podcasts chart.

Along with the main podcasts charts, Spotify will also launch category-specific Top Podcast charts for seven markets, including the U.S., the U.K., Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Germany, and Australia, allowing users to (for example) check out the most popular true-crime podcasts in Brazil.

Besides the new charts, Spotify is also unwrapping new tools for podcasters, including notifications for podcast creators to let them know when their shows are trending. The trending alerts will come with badges that podcasters can share on social media.

The new Trending and Top Podcasts charts represent yet another push by Spotify into the surging podcast market.

Back in April, Spotify launched a series of curated podcast playlists that are hand-picked by editors, while Your Daily Podcasts, a podcast-centric version of Spotify’s popular Your Daily Mix music playlists, went live last fall.

In Febrary, Spotify coughed up a jaw-dropping $196 million to acquire The Ringer, the popular website and podcast network founded by sports broadcaster Bill Simmons.