Spotify announced on Wednesday that it will start paying podcast hosts who make popular videos on its streaming platform.

Starting in January in the U.S. and other markets, Spotify Premium users will be able to see ad-free videos, and video creators can earn money off those videos.

The streaming giant hosted podcasters, creators and stars like Halsey on its Arts District campus for "Now Playing," a five-hour, invite-only event that featured top execs Daniel Ek and Gustav Söderström.

Spotify has announced a series of new features and monetisation tools for video podcasts in response to an explosive rise in video consumption on the platform. Over 250 million users have now streamed a video podcast on Spotify,

Spotify has unveiled a host of changes to its platform as it attempts to encourage more people to watch video podcasts. Despite having launched and being best known as a music platform, Spotify has expanded into a range of other media in recent years,

Spotify goes after YouTube's video podcast dominance by removing ads for paid subscribers and introducing a new revenue program for creators.