Spotify Invests in Podcast Advertising with Acquisition of Megaphone

Spotify one of the leading audio streaming platform announced the acquisition of Megaphone, one of the world’s leading podcast advertising and publishing platforms. The acquisition of Megaphone represents the next step in Spotify’s expanding the possibilities of this intimate and screenless medium. At the top of the year, Spotify launched Streaming Ad Insertion, an innovative podcast ad technology that delivers the intimacy and quality of traditional podcast ads with the precision and transparency of modern-day digital marketing. Looks like the results of Streaming Ad Insertion have been encouraging to say the least and have further validated Spotify's commitment to the significant potential of podcast advertising.

Delivering Scale to Podcast Advertisers

Advertisers are ready to realize the full potential of podcasts. The combination of Spotify and Megaphone will allow them to activate across Spotify’s Original & Exclusive podcasts while scaling reach through the Megaphone Targeted Marketplace.

Creating Added Value for Podcast Publishers

Together, Spotify and Megaphone will offer podcast publishers innovative tools that will help them earn more from their work. This includes the opportunity to opt in to have their content monetized, matching their loyal listeners with even greater demand from advertisers. And once both come together, it will soon make Streaming Ad Insertion available to podcast publishers on Megaphone, the first time this technology will be made available to third-parties. That means that podcast publishers will be able to offer more-valuable podcast audiences to advertisers based on confirmed ad impressions (i.e., that their ad was actually heard).

Spotify has already seen its investment in audio pay off. In the Q3 earnings, it announced that 22% of its total monthly average users (MAUs) engaged with podcasts last quarter and that podcast advertising revenue is up nearly 100% year over year. This comes alongside innovations like Spotify's first-of-its-kind format for creators to bring together music and talk, and mixed-media playlists like Your Daily Drive. Spotify podcast catalog now includes over 1.9 million titles that feature storytelling, sports, education, and wellness from diverse voices across the globe, and the world’s top creators—from Michelle Obama and Brené Brown to Addison Rae and DC Comics.