The Latest Spotify Audience Network Innovations for Advertisers and Anchor Creators

This past February at Stream On, we announced the Spotify Audience Network, our first-of-its-kind audio advertising marketplace that enables advertisers to connect with listeners enjoying a broad range of music and podcast content. Since then, we’ve launched the network in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada with Spotify Originals & Exclusives and third-party podcasts from Megaphone publishers like The Wall Street Journal and ViacomCBS. What’s more, since launch, the number of podcasts in our network has grown by more than 50%—with even more on the way.

While the Spotify Audience Network is still in its early days, we’re pleased with the impact we’ve already seen from this new, audience-centric approach to podcast buying. The result? Greater reach for advertisers and higher earnings for opted-in Megaphone publishers. 

Introducing Anchor to the Spotify Audience Network

Behind the scenes, we’ve continued to develop new ways for podcast creators to earn from their work, including the launch of subscriptions and evolving Anchor’s monetization suite. And today, following a successful test period, we are officially opening up the Spotify Audience Network to Anchor creators in the U.S. 

Advertiser enthusiasm for the podcast industry has skyrocketed over the last year and with this launch, top Anchor creators will be able to take advantage of this growing demand while having yet another way to monetize their content. 

And for advertisers, the introduction of Anchor into the Spotify Audience Network will enable them to connect with even more immersed listeners as they stream some of the fastest growing, most dynamic podcasts in the world, such as Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry, How Long Gone, and Office Hours live with Tim Heidecker. Anchor powers 70% of Spotify’s podcast catalog, so this new capacity rapidly scales the breadth of advertisers’ reach.

“I’m really excited to be part of the Spotify Audience Network as an Anchor creator,” says the creator of rSlash. “Anchor’s been an amazing platform and has helped my podcast grow to where it is now. Based on the success Anchor and Spotify have driven for me so far, I have full confidence that the new monetization models they’re offering will help creators like me expand our businesses further.”

Podcast ads for all

But wait: there’s more. 

Advertisers of all sizes have been vying to take advantage of the benefits of podcasts, but it hasn’t been so simple. Until now, advertisers had to have a direct relationship with the Spotify team and a sizable budget to advertise in our podcast network. Now though, we’re leveling the playing field and soon, all types of advertisers—universities, independent artists, app developers, and more—will be able to realize the value of podcast ads. In the coming weeks, we’ll be introducing podcast ad buying to Spotify Ad Studio, our easy-to-use, self-serve channel. We’re starting in the U.S. with plans to expand to more markets in the future.

Giving advertisers more confidence and control while enforcing a brand-safe environment

Today, we’re also announcing that we’re joining the Global Alliance of Responsible Media (GARM) as the first audio platform among its ranks. As a member, we will help set brand safety standards in audio for the industry while ensuring we’re aligning to their already-established guidelines.

“This year, consumers called Spotify the most-trusted ad platform,” says Lee Brown, VP, Global Head of Advertising Business. “Maintaining that trust—both from our listeners and our partners—is of the utmost importance to us. We already do that through our content and brand safety policies, which utilize a combination of people and technology to moderate what’s appropriate. But there’s always more to do. GARM cements our commitment to this by adhering to a set of industry guidelines.”

What’s more, we are launching the ability to exclude sensitive topics, offering advertisers more confidence and control over where their message is heard across the network. We’re also supercharging our contextual targeting tools, enabling new controls to allow advertisers to target their messages against relevant podcast topics (think: an animal shelter reaching listeners while they enjoy a show about pets).

The time is now

Interested in learning more about these launches, including how to get started? Advertisers can find more details over at Ads.Spotify.com. And Anchor podcasters can learn more about the Spotify Audience Network and the full suite of monetization offerings over at Anchor’s blog.