Podnews finds 1,778 podcasts copied onto Spreaker
Podnews reports that podcast host Spreaker makes it easy to copy someone else's show, publish it to major directories and earn ad money from it. The publication says it found more than a thousand copied shows, and a count of 1,778 in the Podcast Index.
The test was simple. Podnews pasted the RSS address of its own Podnews Daily into Spreaker's "import episodes" page on a free account. The page has no copyright notice and no link to the terms. It did not check the feed owner's email or ask for approval. Audio, artwork, dates, titles and descriptions came across in minutes, and the tool can check the feed every hour for new episodes.
Monetisation approved within hours
Podnews then applied for monetisation on a test show clearly labelled "Test". By 10.30am Central European time, the application was approved. That allowed automatic pre-rolls and post-rolls, plus ads inserted into silent moments. Spreaker's terms let it keep up to 41% of ad revenue.
Podnews did not submit its copy to Apple Podcasts or other directories. It says that step is available from the same dashboard.
What the Podcast Index shows
Podnews downloaded the Podcast Index as of Saturday 24 October 2026 and found 1,778 copies made through the importer. One example is "Adam Carolla Show (copy)" on Apple Podcasts, with the author changed to "juyio". It appeared to have been created on 19 September.
The list of copied titles includes Crime Junkie, Hidden Brain, Criminal and The Rest is Politics. Some have been removed by Apple Podcasts. Many remain and show up as duplicate search results.
A listener who subscribes to a copy by mistake sends ratings, reviews and download credit to the wrong feed, Podnews says. The original publisher earns nothing from that listening, and the plays do not count in official download numbers. Podnews adds that, as podcaster Lisa Lacy told it, a copy can start charting because charts reward new followers.
Spreaker's reply
Spreaker is owned by iHeart. It did not answer Podnews's questions and sent a statement instead. It says it does not encourage or condone uploads by people without the rights, that its Community Rules ask users not to upload content that is not theirs, and that it acts when it finds a violation. It also says its importer honours the podcast:locked tag.
Podnews says Spreaker itself does not appear to let users add that tag to their own shows. It lists the checks it expected: an email to the feed owner, or a claim code placed in the feed.
Source: Podnews