Spotify announced a handful of new features designed to give podcasts a more prominent position in its app as it battles with Apple and YouTube to become users’ preferred podcast streaming destination. The company will begin recommending podcasts on its Home page and provide a Following feed for staying up-to-date with the latest episodes of your favorite shows. Soon, Spotify will also roll out new tools for podcast creators to recommend content and better engage with their fans in comments. Spotify has also invested in video podcasts, allowing all creators to upload video and incentivizing them with payments for successful shows through its Partner Program. Early feedback suggests it’s led to more users engaging with podcasts, saving, and liking shows. In addition, Spotify is introducing a Following feed that will serve as a dedicated spot where you can see all the latest episodes released by the podcasts you follow, instead of having to search across the app. Podcast creators will soon gain access to a new feature that lets them point to other content they mention in their podcast episode that can also be found on Spotify. In a smaller tweak, creators who participate in the comments of their podcast pages on the app will be able to use emoji reactions to respond to fans. The company notes that creators are still able to control when comments appear or opt out of showing them on their shows or episode pages via their Spotify for Creators account.