New Delhi: Swedish audio streaming service Spotify has launched Spotify Audience Network in India, a product that allows podcast creators to monetize their services through advertising.
The company plans to onboard different categories of advertisers, and share revenue with podcast makers to enhance content quality. Paid subscribers of Spotify, too will be able to listen to these ads.
“Podcast listenership is growing very quickly in India as well as globally. In fact, India is one of the largest markets in the world for us, in terms of podcast listenership. This new product will allow brands to advertise within the podcast format across different distribution channels and reach a highly engaged audience while allowing podcasters to scale up,” Brad Grealy, head of ad sales, JAPAC (Japan and Asia Pacific), Spotify, told Mint. The advertising opportunity will exist for both individual podcasters as well as large organisations, Grealy said. Podcast makers don’t usually have means to monetize their services other than reaching out to advertisers on a one-to-one basis, he pointed out.
The first publishers in India that will leverage the Network to monetise content through advertisers, include Audio Pitara and Ideabrew Studios, Spotify said. The service has also launched in Sweden, Brazil, Mexico and Japan.
According to insights from its annual Wrapped campaign, the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita is the most-streamed podcast on Spotify in India in 2023, followed by The Ranveer Show, Krishna- The Supreme Soul and True Story Bro! With Triggered Insaan. Religion and spirituality, education, and society and culture were the most popular genres.
“In Q3, our global advertising revenue grew 16% year-on-year and podcasts played a critical role. Building on the same success and keeping in mind that India is a significant growth market for podcasts, we are unlocking this growing marketplace for local advertisers and publishers. This expansion is the latest in a series of investments Spotify has made to take podcast and audio advertising to the next level by enabling brands to reach these uniquely engaged listeners at scale,” Arjun Kolady, head of sales – India, Spotify said in a statement.
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Updated: 01 Dec 2023, 11:49 AM IST