Spotify revealed that it had 153 million monthly active ad-supported listeners as of December 31 and that its ad-supported revenue in Q4 2019 was €217m ($244m), up 23% YoY.
The platform is now making it easier for more artists in more countries to reach these 150m plus users with paid for audio advertising, and it is set to boost its ad revenue in the process.
SPOT announced yesterday (April 8) that its self-serve Ad Studio is coming out of beta and is expanding into 18 new markets, including Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
Ad Studio is only available in English in these markets, but Spotif y says that it’s also planning to launch new versions in Mexico and Spain later this year that are fully translated into local languages.
Launched in 2017 in the US in beta, followed by the UK and Canada in March 2018, Spotify‘s Ad Studio allows artists and businesses to make audio ads “from scratch” and run them on the platform.
Streaming conversion metrics were also added to the platform last April to allow artists and marketing teams to understand how their audio ads are affecting listeners.
Spotify reports that over 75,000 businesses, as well as established and new artists have created ads using Ad Studio since launch in 2017.
The minimum spend required to set up an ad is 250 in each market’s local currency, and Spotify will create audio ads for free with its voiceover tool.
In other words, provide Spotify with advertising copy and it will record it, mix it, and produce it all for free.
Spotify says that 37% of Ad Studio customers rely on its free voiceover tool for ad creation.
“Ad Studio marks the start of a new chapter that will bring simple, self-serve audio advertising on Spotify to more markets around the world.”
Stacey Wallace, Spotify
“What sets Ad Studio apart from other platforms is the ability to target advertising campaigns to fans of artists, and it also gives you access to information that helps you better understand how users use Spotify (who listens, from where and so on),” said Roberto Marrone, Head of Artist Distribution at Believe, who Spotify cites as one of its Ad Studio testers.
“And the chance to create a voiceover within the platform, in addition to the cost savings, makes the finished product more Spotify-friendly, giving institutionality and continuity to clients’ commercials.”
Stacey Wallace, Ad Studio Group Product Manager, said: “Ad Studio marks the start of a new chapter that will bring simple, self-serve audio advertising on Spotify to more markets around the world.”Music Business Worldwide
