Spotify is allowing its free users in Australia to skip as many audio and video adverts as they want in an effort to collect data for a more “personalized experience”.
The idea is to gain insight into what adverts users want to see and hear and create better engagement for advertisers, according to Spotify‘s Global Head of Partner Solutions Danielle Lee speaking to AdAge.
Advertisers won‘t pay for skipped ads and we’re told that the test, named Active Media, will consider expanding to additional markets in the future.
Lee said: “Our hypothesis is if we can use this to fuel our streaming intelligence, and deliver a more personalized experience and a more engaging audience to our advertisers, it will improve the outcomes that we can deliver for brands.
“if we can use this to fuel our streaming intelligence, and deliver a more personalized experience and a more engaging audience to our advertisers, it will improve the outcomes that we can deliver for brands.”
danielle lee, spotify
“Just as we create these personalized experiences like Discover Weekly, and the magic that brings to our consumers, we want to inject that concept into the advertising experience.”
According to Spotify‘s latest numbers update as of July, automated ad sales accounted for more than 20% of its ad revenue, which rose 20% to total $158m in Q2.
That‘s just over 10% of its overall revenue, which grew by 26% to reach $1.5bn in the three months to the end of June.
Spotify’s global ad-funded user count went down by 1m between the end of Q1 and the end of Q2 – from 102m to 101m – while its paid-for subscriber base grew by 8m in the three months.
The audio ad market is said to be worth $1.6bn in total.Music Business Worldwide
