Tag: Cannes Lions

Spotify at Cannes Lions 2025: The Week’s Unmissable Highlights, Star Power, and More

Last week, Spotify returned to the Croisette for our 11th year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity—bringing together artists, creators, brands, and fans for three days of inspiring conversations, unforgettable performances, and bold ideas at Spotify Beach.

Spotify’s Cannes Lions highlights

This year, Spotify was recognized across several categories at Cannes Lions, reflecting our commitment to creativity and innovation. Highlights include:

    • Grand Prix Lion for Innovation for the Sounds Right campaign in partnership with United Nations and AKQA.
    • Gold Lion for Design-Driven Effectiveness for the Spreadbeats campaign in partnership with FCB New York.
    • Silver Lion for Digital Design for Spreadbeats in partnership with FCB New York.
    • Bronze Lion in Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility for the Sounds Right campaign in partnership with United Nations and AKQA.
    • Shortlisted for Excellence in Craft for the Do You Speak Anitta? campaign.
    • Shortlisted for Consumer Services/Business to Business and Innovation in Branded Content & Social Behavior for Spreadbeats.
    • Shortlisted for Fan Engagement & Community Building for the Singing in Your Inglish campaign.
    • Shortlisted for Rebrand/Refresh of an Existing Brand for Spotify Italy’s Bloombeats in partnership with Dentsu Creative. 
    • Shortlisted for Design for Behavioural Change for Spotify Japan’s Pride Code in partnership with TBWA\HAKUHODO.

Spotify Beach in action

From exclusive panels and a star-studded soirée to exceptional musical moments, here’s a look back at the most memorable scenes from Spotify’s week in the South of France.

Monday, June 16

Spotify Beach kicked off with powerhouse programming featuring Paris Hilton, Louis Theroux, and Charlie Puth. Moderated by Spotify’s Global Head of Podcast Advertising & Business Development, Emma Vaughn, “Mic Check: In Conversation With Louis Theroux, featuring Paris Hilton” explored the power of storytelling across podcasts, documentaries, music, and memoirs. Paris reflected on using her podcast to highlight meaningful stories and connect with others:

“With my social [channels], I can showcase the more fun, glamorous, and playful side. But through my podcast, I can talk about things that are very meaningful to me […] and use my voice to be a voice for others.”

Puth joined Spotify’s Global Head of Business Marketing, Bridget Evans, for “Rhythm and ROI: Amplifying Music in Your Marketing Strategy,” sharing insights on how music drives brand storytelling—and even teasing a new Broadway project and his upcoming album.

The evening wrapped with Spotify’s annual soirée, where Puth performed fan favorites like “Attention” and “See You Again,” plus a surprise rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” Guests included Antoni Porowski, Winnie Harlow, Kyle Kuzma, Bill Nye, Dylan Efron, Rachel Lindsay, Jake Shane, Bowen Yang, and Matt Rogers.

Spotify’s Brian Berner on Creativity, Connection, and What’s Next for Advertisers at Cannes Lions

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is officially underway for 2025, and Spotify is back on the Croisette to showcase how our platform is more alive than ever. Spotify—and Spotify Beach during the festival—is where creators share, fans explore, and brands are discovered, powered by a global community that continues to grow and evolve.

Throughout the week, Spotify Beach is amplifying the creativity that lives on our platform, offering attendees a chance to experience Spotify IRL—as a cultural force and the best home for creators and fans.

With new tools and innovations, it’s easier than ever for advertisers to join Spotify’s ever-evolving playground and engage with audiences. All week long, attendees will see how Spotify makes creativity tangible—showcasing innovative ideas, meaningful connections, and endless possibilities for cultural impact.

To kick off the festivities, we sat down with Brian Berner, Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Sales & Partnerships, to hear about what’s next for advertisers, the evolution of creativity on Spotify, and what he’s most excited about at Cannes Lions this year.

Cannes Lions is all about creativity. How does Spotify continue to foster creativity for advertisers?

From music videos to audiobooks to video podcasts, Spotify sits at the heart of music and culture—and we’re always innovating to unlock new ways to deliver creativity on a global scale. With a worldwide community of creators, artists, musicians, and podcasters, Spotify is a platform that consistently inspires creative expression. In fact, 87% of creatives in the ad industry say Spotify allows them to be more creative than other platforms.

For advertisers, we have our Creative Lab—an in-house creative agency of storytellers, cultural investigators, marketers, art directors, strategists, copywriters, and Spotify lovers spread across the globe. This team is constantly creating, testing, and gathering data on what works on our platform to help advertisers maximize their creative potential.

Ahead of Cannes, we’ve also just unveiled two new initiatives to help brands further tap into Spotify’s creative playground: the Creative Lab Hub and our inaugural Creative Council. The Creative Lab Hub is a new global destination where brands and advertisers can access Spotify Advertising’s most effective tools, formats, and insights—making it easier than ever to create breakthrough campaigns.

Meanwhile, our Creative Council brings together industry-leading creatives to help shape the future of advertising and brand storytelling on Spotify. This group includes top creative leads from agencies including R/GA, BBDO, McCann, Anomaly, VML, and GUT, as well as brand leaders from Ulta, AG1, and Coca-Cola.

We’re excited to see how advertisers continue to uplevel their creativity on Spotify!

Spotify is hosting several panels this year. What’s the value in bringing these conversations to the stage?

Our Spotify Beach daytime programming brings together some of the world’s leading voices for compelling conversations that spark discovery, connection, and inspiration. From Louis Theroux and Paris Hilton discussing the art of storytelling to brands like Instacart and Luxottica sharing their strategies and results with the Spotify Ad Exchange, our sessions highlight how Spotify is closer than ever to the heartbeat of culture and driving impact for brands. These conversations showcase how we’re creating impactful connections between artists, creators, fans, and brands in innovative and unique ways—both on and off the platform.

How has the evolution of Spotify’s platform to include video content changed the game for advertisers?

Spotify is now so much more than music and podcasts, including when it comes to advertising. Video consumption on our platform is booming, with users’ spending 44% more time looking at our app compared to last year. This increased in-focus engagement unlocks more visual, multiformat opportunities for advertisers, like our latest Canvas and In-Feed ad formats. 

We’ve found that audio and video ads together are a powerful combination for campaigns on Spotify. In fact, combining both increases purchase intent by 27% and incremental sales by 66%, compared to audio alone. As engagement on our platform continues to evolve, we’re evolving right alongside it—offering brands new ways to deliver compelling, multiformat audio and visual campaigns to Spotify’s global audience. We’re excited about the potential of video and what it means for creators, users, and advertisers alike.

At Spotify Advance in April, Spotify Advertising announced updates like Gen AI Ads. What’s the response been so far? 

The response to our efforts in making it easier for advertisers to buy, create, and measure results on Spotify has been incredibly strong, particularly with Gen AI Ads.

Since launching Gen AI Ads, nearly 1,500 advertisers in the U.S. and Canada have already used the tool to create and launch more than 7,000 high-quality audio ads on Spotify. Advertisers tell us they love how fast and easy it is: On average it takes just 17 minutes to go from idea to finished ad, and half of advertisers complete the process in under 9 minutes. That speed, combined with built-in scriptwriting and voiceover capabilities, is making audio advertising more accessible and flexible than ever for advertisers of all sizes.

Given the successful rollout in the U.S. and Canada, we recently expanded Gen AI Ads to the U.K.—bringing these tools to even more advertisers, now with voiceovers featuring British accents. It’s our latest step in helping advertisers of all sizes tap into Spotify Advertising with ease and full creative control, all within Spotify Ads Manager.

What advertising trends do you expect to see in the coming year?

In today’s fast-moving culture, we’re seeing that people are reducing their dependence on social media in favor of more authenticity and positive connection—and Spotify is one of the places they’re choosing. That’s not just good news for fans and artists; it’s great for brands, too. The attention our listeners give to Spotify translates directly to ads: In fact, our ads capture twice as much attention compared to social media platforms. 

I think there’s so much opportunity to scale the fan experiences we’ve created and imagine new, more interactive ways for fans to connect—not just with artists, creators, and brands on our platform, but also IRL. That’s why we have Creative Lab and our in-house consultancy Spotify AUX—to help brands build even more impactful connections with fans both on- and off-platform.

We’re also seeing automated buying become the industry default. Automated digital audio spend in the U.S. is on the rise and now represents 26% of the market. That’s why our investments in automated channels like the Spotify Ad Exchange and Spotify Ads Manager are more timely and important than ever.

What are you most looking forward to at Spotify Beach this year?

As someone who’s been in the ad industry for more than 20 years, I love Cannes Lions—it’s when everyone comes together to share wins and learnings, build relationships, and get inspired by the creativity and innovation happening across the industry.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the film Sinners, so I’m stoked about our Wednesday daytime session happening on Spotify Beach: The Art of Personalization Through Music with Ludwig Göransson and Miles Caton. If you haven’t seen the film yet, I highly recommend it!

That’s a Wrap on Cannes Lions 2024! Inside the Awards, Spotify Beach Action, and More

This week, Spotify returned to the South of France for the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which recognizes excellence in the world of marketing and advertising. This annual gathering of the biggest brands, coolest creators, and most famous faces is an exciting opportunity to showcase how our platform inspires creativity, connection, and innovation.

This year, we’re thrilled to share that Spotify Advertising took home nine awards for Spreadbeats, our latest B2B marketing campaign that features a first-of-its-kind music video made and distributed entirely in a media plan spreadsheet. The campaign earned one Grand Prix Lion, two Gold Lions, three Silver Lions, and three Bronze Lions across several categories, including Digital Craft, Creative B2B, Creative Data, and more. It was the most shortlisted of all Cannes Lions submissions. Additionally, Spotify won a Bronze Lion in the Creative Effectiveness category for our 2023 Wrapped On-Platform experience, our biggest Wrapped yet.

These wins cap off a jam-packed week for Spotify at Cannes. With it being our 10th year at the festival, we wanted to make sure the Spotify experience was more alive than ever. As Cannes Lions lit up the Croisette, Spotify Beach was at the center of the action, home to inspiring conversations during the day and unmissable musical performances at night. Relive all the festivities and see photos from each day below.

Monday, June 17

We kicked things off with some fascinating conversations with singer-songwriter Shaboozey and PepsiCo International Beverages Chief Marketing Officer Mark Kirkham, who touched on brand partnership and creative content, with a special focus on the relationship between music, sports, and culture.

From there, comedian, content creator, and Therapuss host Jake Shane sat down with Brad Ross, VP of Global Sports and Entertainment Marketing & Partnerships at The Coca-Cola Company, to discuss building a community on Spotify and defining your brand. We capped the conversation off with the exciting announcement that Spotify is bringing daylist—our ever-changing playlist feature—to even more fans in more languages around the world in the coming months. “I love using Spotify to document my life—I add songs kind of like a diary. With daylist, it’s really fun getting playlists that capture what I’m feeling on a random Tuesday afternoon or a Sunday morning,” said Jake. “It’s like a musical diary entry made for me.”

Last but not least, we gathered some of the week’s hottest stars at a scenic villa in the hills for our annual Spotify Soirée. The evening featured an acoustic performance from John Legend, as well as DJ sets from Tinea Taylor and Pearl Thusi. Guests included Jessica Alba, Joe Burrow, Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice of York, Alix Earle, and Sophia Bush, among others.

Spotify Reports Second Quarter 2023 Earnings

Today, Spotify announced our second quarter 2023 financial performance.

Spotify had a very strong quarter. We beat guidance and welcomed more users and subscribers than expected, with growth continuing to come from markets all over the world.

As we previewed on the Q1 earnings call, we expected to incur charges in the second quarter related to our ongoing efforts to become a more efficient and stronger business. These were excluded from the Q2 guidance we provided last quarter.

  • Monthly Active Users surged 27% to 551 million. Net additions of 36 million were 21 million ahead of guidance and represent an all-time high for the company. 
  • Subscribers grew 17% Y/Y to 220 million. Net additions of 10 million were 3 million ahead of guidance and represent the highest Q2 in company history. 
  • Total Revenue grew 11% Y/Y to €3.2 billion, in-line with guidance. 
  • Adjusted Gross Margin** finished in-line with guidance at 25.5% excluding charges related to our actions in the quarter to streamline operations and reduce costs.
  • Adjusted Operating Loss** of (€112) million was better than guidance, excluding charges related to our actions in the quarter to streamline operations and reduce costs.

Take a look at additional highlights below:

Interested in hearing more? Click here to review the full earnings release and listen to the webcast Q&A on our Investor Relations site here. And click below to check out a sizzle reel of audio trailers from a few of our recent original and exclusive podcasts. 

 

**Adjusted Gross Margin and Adjusted Operating Loss are non-IFRS measures. See Reconciliation of IFRS to Non-IFRS Results below for additional information.

Reconciliation of IFRS to Non-IFRS Results

Issa Rae Offers Up Insights on Supporting and Amplifying Diverse Creators

Through initiatives like Frequency, our Creator Equity Fund, and Outside Voice, the Spotify Advertising program that spotlights rising BIPOC talents in the global creative community, we’re committed to giving underrepresented talent an opportunity to shine. 

And as part of our Spotify Beach lineup at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, we invited Joe Hadley, Spotify’s Global Head of Artist Partnership; Tye Comer, Spotify’s Senior Creative Production Manager and Founder of Outside Voice; and Erin Styles, Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Business Communications, to host a conversation with three industry leaders who are building culture-shaping programs that support and amplify diverse voices. Tina Mahal, SVP of Marketing at Frito-Lay; Rania Robinson, President of Women in Advertising and Communications, Leadership (WACL); and Issa Rae, award-winning writer, actress, director, producer, and creative executive who is the mastermind behind hit shows like Insecure and Rap Sh!t, all took to the stage.

Ty Comer and Rania Robinson

Tye Comer and Rania Robinson

Our three guests shared not only their personal and professional journeys, but actionable insights as well. Here are five key ways for brands to use their platforms to authentically promote and connect with underrepresented communities.

Do more than seek out opportunities—build relationships

When asked how she aligns her personal values with the brands she works with, Issa revealed that she’s less interested in the size of a potential paycheck, and more interested in building valuable, long-term relationships. 

“I like to be transparent and ask brands what they hope to get out of a potential partnership, because I don’t wanna waste anybody’s time,” she said. “I want people to find value in collaborating with me and my media company, Hoorae. I want to have long-term relationships with the brands and not one-off situations that fall by the wayside. I remember I did a partnership with a brand, we worked together well, and I really liked what they did. But it was only for one big campaign, and I felt like it should have been a longer partnership.”

Issa also shared that she looks for partnerships that not only fit seamlessly into her personal and professional life, but also elevate the rest of her team at Hoorae Media and the creators they represent. This is what inspired the company’s decision to expand into talent representation with its management arm, Creative Color. 

“I would get so many opportunities that I didn’t feel like were the right fit for me, but I knew other up-and-coming creators and artists that could benefit from those,” she said. “And so I’ve been able to just kind of curate my own experiences and help curate the experiences of others.”

Tina Mahal

Double down on ideas that have momentum

Tina remembers that the marketing and advertising efforts of brands made her feel invisible when she was growing up. Now a SVP at Frito-Lay, she’s committed to building programs and creating campaigns that speak to the diverse individuals and communities who buy their products. And last year, Tina and Frito-Lay made headlines by replacing the company’s Cracker Jack mascot with Cracker Jill to promote women’s impact on sports.

Her advice? When you land on the right idea, accelerate.

“One thing I learned over the past year or so is, when you start to feel that excitement and that momentum behind an idea, there’s something there,” Tina shared. “And I would say that if you start to feel that momentum, double down on it. Make it massive. That’s what we did with Cracker Jill. It’s a 127-year-old brand, and we probably haven’t talked about it in a hundred years. We felt that momentum and we knew we needed to go big on it.”

Look beyond the numbers

In her role as WACL President, Rania is committed to getting more women in the professional world into positions of power. But while data suggests that progress is being made, she is wary of using stats as the lone indicator and believes there is still plenty of work left to do.

“The danger is that we are being fed figures that, on the surface, demonstrate huge amounts of progress,” she said. “When you actually unpack that data, you realize that women might be in the C-suite, but they’re not in the positions where they’ve really got the strongest level of influence. So what we are really campaigning for in our 100th year is to get equal representation in the CEO position. Because that’s where people can affect the most change.”

Rania went on to explain that having underrepresented voices in the top job not only provides a tangible shift in equality for women, but for marginalized groups as well.

Expand the scope of representation

While representation is often discussed with regard to public-facing efforts, Issa took a moment to discuss why representation is just as important behind the scenes, pointing out those less-suspecting moments where a lack of diversity is clearly felt. 

Issa Rae

“Even with aspects like hair, makeup, or lighting, you’re just like, they can’t find anybody because they didn’t do it in the way that it could be done,” she said.

This is why, according to Issa, Hoorae has taken intentional steps to make sure representation exists across the entire company. 

“There are so many Black experiences—diasporic experiences—and I want to make sure that we reflect that within the company, because that’s just gonna open up fresh ideas and creativity,” Issa said. “I think back to staffing the writers’ room for Insecure, and I had an incredible showrunner in Prentice Penny. He pointed out that it would be easy to get a bunch of people who think like me, but that we already had me. I’m one person with one perspective.” 

Rania also shared a similar sentiment during the talk, expressing that representation isn’t one-dimensional.

“Proportional representation matters. It shouldn’t be just a certain type of woman that’s in those positions,” she said.

Be authentic

This is a refrain often heard in the marketing and advertising worlds, but it carries no less weight as a result. Over the course of the conversation, all three of our featured guests referenced the importance of authenticity when it comes to diversity efforts.

“Authenticity is key. It’s gotta fit with what you’re trying to do with your brand and your message,” Tina imparted to the crowd. “Trying to be a symbol for the sake of being a symbol is not a great approach. When no one really wants to talk about your efforts and they don’t wanna do anything with it, then it’s a symbol. You don’t actually have something authentic that can grow to something bigger.”

Issa also discussed the importance of authenticity in movies and TV, referencing the fact that fans can always notice when a creator is faking it.

“If you’re making something that is supposed to be authentically Black and people are like ‘No, this is not it,’ you can identify when there are no Black team members,” she said. “When you’re watching or listening to something that reflects an actual experience from a person of color, or a perspective that mirrors your own, you can feel it.”

“I’ll never forget watching a movie get dragged because of set design. It’s a nightmare when people are like, ‘Oh, a character would never have that poster in their room…that doesn’t make sense…nobody Black worked on this.’” 

And in discussing the recipe for success when it comes to brand diversity initiatives, Rania also expressed the need for genuine efforts that touch every part of an organization.

“I think there are lots of people working towards diversity and equality, but you’ve gotta do it at the root of your organization,” she said. “People are doing things at quite a superficial level, and it’s not really gonna deliver that change in a way that’s gonna be kind of foundational, sustainable, and meaningful.”

Visit our Spotify Beach website to learn more about the week’s events in Cannes, and catch the latest on-the-ground dispatches from our team on the For the Record podcast.

Spotify Wins a Trio of Awards at Cannes Lions 2023

Gold background with 2020 Gold Lion Winner text

This week at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity—which recognizes excellence in the world of marketing and advertising—Spotify received a trio of awards, including a Gold Lion.

Our Gold Lion victory came in the ​​Personalized Storytelling and Experience category for our 2022 Spotify Wrapped On-Platform Experience—our campaign that’s now a cultural phenomenon. 

Wrapped campaign mobile images

“Winning the Gold Lion is an honor and a testament to the immense talent and dedication of the cross-functional team at Spotify who work to bring the magic of Wrapped to life each year,” said Taj Alavi, Spotify VP, Global Head of Marketing. “As we say, Wrapped isn’t about Spotify, it’s about the world of audio culture. This achievement reaffirms our commitment to deliver a special moment to fans and creators at the end of each year and continue innovating, inspiring, and creating experiences for our users in the years to come.” 

Wrapped harnesses the power of discoverability and personalization on Spotify and showcases it in a way that delights users and creators alike, year after year. It’s a moment when the whole company comes together to think creatively about how we can surprise and delight our listeners, and every year we continue to iterate on how we bring Wrapped to life for fans, artists, and creators around the world. 

Bronze beacons

In addition to the Gold Lion, Spotify also received a Bronze Digital Craft Lion in the Cross-Channel Storytelling category for its design of 2022 Wrapped, which showcased listening individuality—the layers within all of us, brought to life through a visual identity focused on multiplicity.

a FC Barcelona Rosalia jersey

Spotify also received a Bronze Entertainment Lion for Music for its fan engagement and community building work in a campaign that saw the debut of a special FC Barcelona match kit during the club’s men’s and women’s El Clásico matches in March. Featuring ROSALÍAs MOTOMAMI album logo, the kits celebrated the one-year anniversary of the album and the Spanish pop star’s huge success on Spotify.

These wins cap off an exciting week for Spotify at Cannes, which included a talk on the art of the interview with star creator Alex Cooper; live performances from H.E.R., Florence + The Machine, Foo Fighters, Jack Harlow, and A$AP Rocky; DJ sets from will.i.am, Disclosure, and Uncle Waffles; and the reveal of Trevor Noah’s new Spotify Original podcast. For more on all the week’s happenings from the French Riviera, be sure to check out our Spotify Beach landing page.

How Spotify Brings FC Barcelona Players and Passionate Fans Together

CANNES, FRANCE - JUNE 19: (L to R) Bradford Ross, VP Global Sports & Entertainment Marketing and Partnerships at The Coca-Cola Company, Cesc Fàbregas, Pola Gomez, Benjamin Braun, Samsung Europe CMO and Jeremy Erlich, Spotify Global Head of Music participate in the Top Hits and Goal-Scoring Kicks: Fans, Football and Media session at Spotify Beach, during Cannes Lions on June 19, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Spotify)

For fans, the world of sports is more than what happens on the field or the outcome on the scoreboard. It’s about bringing people together. In this way, sports and music are similar—especially when it comes to the passion that fans have for each.

This week at Spotify Beach at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Spotify’s Head of Music, Jeremy Erlich, hosted a conversation between former FC Barcelona player Cesc Fàbregas, freestyle footballer Pola Gomez, Coca Cola’s VP of Global Sports and Entertainment Marketing and Partnerships, Bradford Ross, and Samsung’s European CMO, Benjamin Braun. Together, they dove into the fan culture surrounding sports, music and the ways each brand has harnessed this passion. 

“About a year ago, we signed our partnership with FC Barcelona,” Jeremy said at the start of the conversation. “It’s been an amazing partnership. Together, we set out to bring the world of  Football and Music together. For us, it’s about how we can use FC Barcelona’s huge scale and fanbase to celebrate artists and grow our brand in places like India, Indonesia and Latin America. Football and sport are different from music, but they have the similarities of having very passionate fan bases and having very young fanbases.”

Cesc Fàbregas knows something about an active fanbase. He joined his first professional team, Arsenal, at age 16, coming off the World Cup tournament where he was voted the best player and goal scorer. “Even though we lost the final against Brazil, that’s the first time I started signing shirts and taking pictures with people.” A few years later, Cesc joined his home country’s Football Club Barcelona, and led the team to victory at the world championships at age 23. But he stays humble.

“I always say that in football, you never know everything,” said Cesc. “It’s one of those sports you can always grow, even when you’re 32, 35, 37, and everyone around me has helped me learn. Everyday, I’m thankful for that.” 

Pola Gomez also started playing football at a young age, thanks to her family’s love of the sport. But after sustaining injuries to both knees, she transitioned to football freestyle, where she interacts with most of her fans through social media. “I am on social media first for sharing my passion, sharing my tricks, but also to show off this incredible football freestyle universe. I love being close to my community, to share tips, but also to motivate people, especially girls trying out the sport of their dreams,” she said. 

Jeremy dove deeper into music and branding with each athlete, and how their sport brings fans together. Read on for some top moments from their conversation.

Cesc: It [The Spotify partnership with FC Barcelona] is another level. You see how big the club can be around the world. Everywhere you go, they know you. They know the players, they know the brand. Spotify has made a great choice in joining us.

Jeremy: As part of our Barcelona partnership, twice this past year for the Clásico, which is one of the most watched sports in the world, we replaced the Spotify jersey with an artist logo. We did Drake for the first Clásico, and then we did ROSALiA for the second. And let’s specifically talk about ROSALiA: She’s been a Barcelona fan her entire life. So the emotional connection when we offered her the opportunity to be on the jersey was, I think, one of the most enriching things we’ve done with an artist. She was moved to tears because her family and all her friends could see her on the jersey. But I think that really brings the strength of local connections.

Cesc: I think music has a really big, big part for us in football. Normally, there’s one designated player that will take charge of the music and will play music that everyone likes. But Spain is the place where there’s the most chaos because everyone likes a different type of music. 

So each game, we pick a player who will dictate what’s going to happen musically in the locker room. It’s really, really important because in this half an hour before the game when we listen to music, we also just pump everyone up and we get motivated and excited for the game. 

Sometimes we have one song that we all pick that we all feel identified with and we’ll just go for it. And you know it’s time for action. 

Jeremy: When you think of what you want brands to associate with you, what do you think of? What’s most important to you? 

Pola: Most important for me is to keep my image as a strong woman with my style. I really try to accept only brands with my values and ethics. At first, I posted just for me, and now all people can see my free style and they love and appreciate it. It’s just crazy—I don’t really have words for that, but it’s just so cool to be able to simply enjoy my passion. I can’t imagine my life without my ball. We are like a duo. We express ourselves together.

Cesc: I think it’s most important to bring everyone together and fight for what’s good and fight against what’s not good. Because we always have a big thing to say as sportsmen, as people who represent many, many things around the world in terms of culture and diversity. We just have to always be positive and try to improve as the world is trying to improve.  

Catch all the conversations happening on the ground at Cannes on Newsroom.Spotfy.com/SpotifyBeach2023 and listen to the full conversation on Spotify.

Creativity, Cocktails, and Connection at Spotify’s Cannes Lions Kickoff Event

We opened our week at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France the best way we know how: Spotlighting stellar musical performances and creating a magical atmosphere. 

After a day spent at Spotify Beach, we hosted an opening night celebration at a beautiful private villa in the center of Cannes’ La Californie district. Upon arrival, guests including Paris Hilton, Matt Kaplan, Alex Cooper, Trevor Noah, Emma Chamberlain, Amanda Gorman, Pola Gomez, Josh Richards, Auli’li Cravalho, Ashlyn Harris, and more mingled over food and drink, and grooved along to selections from the DJ duo Collyer Twins.

Head of International Sales Kristiana Carlet Shares How We’re Taking Advertising to the Next Level at Spotify Beach

Each year, Spotify showcases how our platform inspires creativity, connection, and innovation for advertisers and brands at the Cannes Festival of Creativity in France. This year, we’re also able to spotlight the tremendous growth we’ve seen recently—our ad-supported revenue grew 17% year over year in the first quarter of 2023—and how we’re moving toward a future where ads account for 20% of Spotify’s total revenue

Kristiana “Kri” Carlet has witnessed this growth firsthand. Since joining Spotify as the Head of International Sales, she’s taken our efforts in Europe, Asia, and Australia to new heights. The Italian native, who moved to the U.K. in the early 2000s to start her career in advertising, says that her desire to learn something new every day and her international branding expertise are a winning combination of tools to make Spotify a leader in audio advertising globally.

“We’re already seeing the forward momentum in Europe, so now I’m excited to turn my sights to the emerging markets like Japan and India, where we’re just getting started with our ads business,” she explained to For the Record on the ground in Cannes. “Every time I’m in those markets with the team and our customers, I’m blown away by the excitement around our brand, the creativity there, and the opportunity that audio represents for them! We’re going to have a huge ability to test new ideas and ways to advertise in those markets—I’m very interested in seeing that come to life.” 

We’re kicking off another standout year at Cannes. What are you most looking forward to this week at Spotify Beach? 

I’ll be very honest—I’ve done so many Cannes—but when I came with Spotify for the first time last year, I was blown away. And I wasn’t sure how we could top it! So I’m very proud to say that this year, Spotify Beach will come to life with even more interactive, playful experiences, from enriching masterclasses featuring the world’s most influential voices to truly FOMO-worthy evening concerts. 

Visitors can get excited for interactive experiences such as a Songs of Summer soundscape, an FC Barcelona partner zone, and an AI DJ interactive experience. Plus, Spotify Studio is back again and fully booked with creators, advertisers, and press taking advantage of our state-of-the-art audio-video facilities. We’ll also host a series of masterclasses featuring exclusive opportunities to hear from Spotify executives including CEO and founder Daniel Ek, brand partners like Coca-Cola and Samsung, and some of the world’s most exciting creators, including Emma Chamberlain, Trevor Noah, Issaa Rae, and Alex Cooper.

We’re also hosting a series of playdates that bring the magic of Spotify to life by inviting guests to get out of their seats and play. And of course, it wouldn’t be Spotify Beach without a lineup of can’t-miss evening performances, including Foo Fighters, Florence + the Machine, Jack Harlow, A$AP Rocky, will.i.am, and more. All of this makes Spotify Beach the perfect spot to meet our clients and partners and show them they are part of an amazing journey with us at Spotify! 

We’re constantly innovating new technologies and formats for content creators and advertisers. What are some ways we’re demonstrating these at Cannes?

Ahead of Cannes, we announced Spotify Ad Analytics and our new B2B podcast, Perfect Pitch, inspired by our Cannes Lions award-winning campaign, A Song for Every CMO. We also recently shared our Sonic Science 2.0 research study, which demonstrates how audio content connects both emotionally and physically with listeners. We found that Spotify listeners are bringing audio into their lives literally 24 hours a day—and are primed to embrace brand messages. Most recently, we’ve been focused on using AI to enrich the listening experience—like with our AI DJ, where each user’s own DJ creates personalized listening experiences for them. Now that I use it, I can’t live without it! 

But I think the best way to absorb everything we’re innovating on is our session with Daniel Ek, Trevor Noah, and our Global Head of Advertising, Lee Brown, as they share their perspectives on how to best leverage new technology to tell stories and drive deeper connections with audiences. I’m really looking forward to sitting in on that one myself.

Cannes Lions is also about awarding the most impactful, creative advertising campaigns and the people behind them. What are some of your favorite Spotify campaigns from the last year?

There’s been so much that we’ve been working on with the partners around us—I can honestly say that we get to work with the world’s most innovative marketers to create original and engaging ad experiences for digital audio. My favorites have been Destination Canada, easyJet, and especially Disney+, which allowed us to bridge our work with Disney to launch a new campaign that combines the worlds of music, film, and TV in a delightful and immersive experience. With it, Spotify listeners across Germany, the U.K., Ireland, Italy, and Spain were able to explore personalized recommendations, as well as new genres and titles from Disney+’s catalog based on their listening habits. It’s personalized, innovative, and meets music and television lovers right where they are—truly a Spotify experience. 

Why should advertisers visit Spotify Beach on the Croisette?

During typical client meetings, you focus on the brief and the specific business challenge that your customer needs you to meet. You can’t always bring the examples to life. I think events like Cannes give us the opportunity to give them a 360-degree view about the power of Spotify advertising and showcase how we’re really only at the beginning of this journey. 

Spotify Beach is really going to bring our creativity and innovation in the streaming industry as a whole to life. It will demonstrate the power that our creator and industry relationships have and how we make them available for our bands and partners. Clients and partners will get to see and experience the overall Spotify ecosystem. Spotify has such an impact on people’s lives, and coming to Spotify Beach shows that without question. 

What’s your personal work mantra?

When you come with a great deal of experience, it’s important to remind yourself that you don’t know it all—and you have to be very good at listening. Because of where I am on my personal journey, I have a lot of reminders to remove my bias and spend time listening to my team and customers. If we want to be successful in business, it always starts at the end of the day, with the people. Then I can help supercharge the experiences of my team and my customers. 

Finally, what would we find on your “On Repeat” playlist? 

At the moment, anything Harry Styles. I’m obsessed—and it’s a common passion I have with my 17-year-old daughter. We’ve been trying to learn the lyrics from Spotfiy on our car journeys so we can belt them out when we see him in concert. As an Italian, I also love Maneskin. They are so fun and they’re going to become an iconic global band.

Catch more of our full Cannes lineup here.

Foo Fighters, Florence + The Machine, A$AP Rocky, Jack Harlow, Trevor Noah, Alex Cooper, Issa Rae, Emma Chamberlain, and More To Join Spotify Beach at Cannes Lions

Next week, Spotify is returning to the South of France for the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, where we’ll transform Spotify Beach into a hub of activity dawn ’til dusk as we celebrate a new way to play. And we’re bringing along some big-name friends to join in the fun.

Our special opening-night soiree will feature an intimate performance by Grammy Award-winning artist H.E.R., as well as a DJ set from the unparalleled Collyer Twins

We’ll be hosting daytime masterclasses and nighttime events beginning Monday, June 19, and continuing through Thursday, June 22, emphasizing our focus on creativity, connection, and innovation. Attendees can look forward to sessions featuring Spotify leaders and guests including Alex Cooper, Issa Rae, Emma Chamberlain, and world-renowned football player Cesc Fàbregas. Author and comedian Trevor Noah will join Spotify CEO and Cofounder Daniel Ek for a conversation on the future of storytelling. Throughout the day, catch DJ Toyin spinning sets.

Then, as night falls on Tuesday, Florence + The Machine and Jack Harlow will take to the stage accompanied by DJs will.i.am and Uncle Waffles. Wednesday is primed for world-class performances from Foo Fighters and A$AP Rocky, and a DJ set from Disclosure. And our house DJ Taylah Elaine will brighten the beach with music throughout it all.  

Spotify Beach itself will feature several interactive experiences, like daily sound bath meditations, an immersive Songs of Summer soundscape, an FC Barcelona play zone, a “Sonic Sips” coffee-and-juice bar, a custom sunglasses gifting station, and much more.  

Read on for a full list of the sessions on the ground, then check back next week here on For the Record for the full takeaway from our novel masterclasses. 

Monday, June 19

Building a brand is more than meets the eye…and ear 

Owning your craft takes dedication, consistency, and commitment—something Spotify’s Taj Alavi, VP, Global Head of Marketing; Loewe’s CMO Charlie Smith; and Anything Goes creator Emma Chamberlain all know well. The trio will share their approaches to what they create; their style around partnerships and projects, brand building, and brand positioning; and how to engage the next generation of streamers.

Top hits and goal-scoring kicks: fandom, football, and media 

We’re hosting a conversation between football legend Cesc Fàbregas, award-winning football Freestyler Pola Gomez, Samsung Europe CMO Benjamin Braun, and Bradford Ross, Coca-Cola’s VP Global Sports and Entertainment Marketing and Partnerships. They’ll dive into the obsessive fan culture surrounding sports and how brands tap into fandoms of all kinds. 

Tuesday, June 20

The cutting edge of creativity and storytelling 

Join Daniel Ek and Trevor Noah at Spotify Beach as they discuss the future of storytelling and the art of navigating different mediums to forge a deeper connection with worldwide audiences. They’ll offer insights on how creators can tell stories in more meaningful ways and effectively leverage new technologies in the ever-evolving media landscape.

The art of the interview 

You don’t need to be an investigative reporter by trade to benefit from learning how to conduct a masterful interview. Things get meta as Spotify’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, Dustee Jenkins, sits down with Alex Cooper, Creator, Host, and Executive Producer of Call Her Daddy, to discuss the art of the interview. Learn how to craft the right questions, disarm your subject, and get straight to the heart of the matter.

Wednesday, June 21

Connecting to the sound of culture 

Spotify’s Global Head of Artist Partnerships, Joe Hadley; Tye Comer, Creative Development and Founder of Spotify’s Outside Voice program; and Erin Styles, Global Head of Ads Business Communications & PR, will spotlight producer-actress-writer Issa Rae; SVP of Marketing at Frito-Lay North America, Tina Mahal; and WACL President Rania Robinson. They’ll discuss the importance of culture-shaping programs that support and amplify diverse voices. This comes as part of Spotfiy’s continued commitment to empowering creators and inspiring our audience to elevate underrepresented communities in their own work.

DJ Mixer

Turn it up with Spotify’s very own Xavier “X” Jernigan, Head of Cultural Partnerships and the voice of AI DJ. We’re rolling up the carpet for an afternoon mixer complete with games, cocktails, mingling, and—maybe—a surprise or two. 

So bookmark For the Record, follow @SpotifyNews and @SpotifyAds on social media, and stay tuned for much more as we discover a new way to play.

All Eyes on Cannes Lions: Spotify Closes Out an Action-Packed Week on the Croisette

Peter Girardi, Hasan Minhaj, Winston Duke and Dawn Ostroff sit outside on a stage in front of a spotify logo. they are having a conversation.
Photo credit: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

From engaging discussions during the day to exciting musical performances at night, Spotify Advertising brought the heat to the Croisette. Take our word for it: Our trip back to France was a hit. And before we bid au revoir, we want to relive all the festivities.

Tune in to Gen Z’s listening habits

On Monday, Spotify’s Global Head of Public Affairs, Dustee Jenkins, moderated the panel “Who is Gen Z Really?” with Teenager Therapy cohosts Kayla Suarez and Thomas Pham and JUV Consulting Founder and CEO Ziad Ahmed. Collectively, they unpacked findings from Spotify’s annual Culture Next report and focused on how Gen Z is listening and creating on Spotify as they navigate early adulthood—and what this means for brands trying to reach them. Here are some highlights from the panel.

Four guests sit on an outdoor stage conducting a panel

(L to R) Thomas Pham, Kayla Suarez, Ziad Ahmed, and Dustee Jenkins. Photo credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images

“With Gen Z, we want brands to be authentic and honest about their values and their fallbacks too. Gen Z can see if they’re trying too hard or being fake. And that doesn’t mean perfect. We aren’t perfect either, but you have to tell the truth. It goes a long way with building a foundation of trust and honesty.” – Kayla Suarez

“Brands talk for Gen Z. . . . I think the best way to get young people onboard is to include them in the conversation and let them have influence.” – Thomas Pham

“Mental health being top genre for Gen Z—it doesn’t blow my mind. It is surprising to me to meet a Gen Zer who self-identifies as happy. Especially coming out of the pandemic. Am I happy? Am I fulfilled? A lot of people came out of this with really mixed conclusions, and we had nowhere to turn for the next step . . . platforms like Spotify help us feel heard, seen, and inspired.” – Ziad Ahmed

 

Kick Back With One of the Spotify-Themed Drinks We’re Serving Up at Cannes Lions

Spotify is making a splash in France for this year’s Cannes Lions. It’s been far too long since we’ve been able to gather together as an advertising industry to celebrate the inspiring and out-of-the-box work happening across the globe. This year we’re celebrating the future of audio and the creativity that drives connections between fans, creators, and advertisers around the world—you’ll see those themes come through in our buzzworthy slate of daytime programming and can’t-miss evening concerts. And to top it off, we’ve partnered with the mixology wizards from nonprofit Equal Measures, who have created a custom menu of Spotify-inspired cocktails and mocktails for guests to enjoy on the Croisette throughout the week. 

Equal Measures’ mission is to deliver equity and equality in the cocktail industry by providing opportunities to professionals from marginalized backgrounds and underrepresented groups. For Spotify Beach, the organization paired us with mixologists Sana Barclay, Ernest Reid, and Jason-Candid Knüsel, who created drinks themed around some of our Original and Exclusive podcast titles, such as Jemele Hill is Unbothered, Caso 63, and Call Her Daddy

So, what’s the recipe for a Spotify-themed cocktail?