Spotify has doubled down on its advertising expansion by launching several new features, chief among them a fresh ad exchange and a collection of AI tools. The platform formally disclosed these features (and touted multiple already-confirmed offerings) during its annual Advance event. First up, the Spotify Ad Exchange, which we covered back in October 2024, has officially launched in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, all of Europe, India, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia. As described by the video-crazed company, advertisers can use this exchange to access the relevant userbase ‘via real-time auction,’ benefiting from ‘full addressability and measurement capabilities’ in the process. At present, the Spotify Ad Exchange is available through The Trade Desk, Google Display & Video 360, and Magnite (which bills itself as ‘the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising platform’). But Spotify intends to add support for Yahoo DSP, Adform, and ‘many’ others ‘soon.’ Also on the horizon is an exchange expansion into podcasts; for now, it only deals in music adverts, higher-ups indicated. Beyond this especially noteworthy feature, Spotify’s Ads Manager is said to be benefiting from ‘more advanced targeting capabilities’ as well as ‘new outcome-based objectives.’ Next, the service (which is’t a stranger’ to artificial-intelligence advertising) is leaning into AI-generated ads by offering ‘scripts and voiceovers at no additional cost.’ These machine-made spots, which Spotify demonstrated in a brief video, are currently live for advertisers in the States and Canada via the Ads Manager. Rounding out the multifaceted announcements’ key takeaways, Spotify debuted bolstered measurement tools designed to help connect adverts with specific users. The latter include listeners who are likely to download particular apps and/or visit certain websites, the platform explained in more words. Additionally, Spotify reiterated different marketing offerings (like its AUX consultancy and Creative Lab agency, which debuted last year) and tapped Lainey Wilson to cap off Advance with a performance. Meanwhile, the aggressive pitch is also extending well beyond the music world and to the New York Times, advertising trades, and elsewhere. To state the obvious, it’ll be interesting to see how effective the pivot is in driving streaming ad growth. Though there isn’t a hard (public) deadline for results on this front, it’s not a secret that paid streaming’s growth is slowing in the States and different established markets. And this plateau is certainly factoring into the financials of (among others) the major labels. Furthermore, the RIAA identified a 1.8% YoY slip in ad-supported revenue on the recorded side for 2024. At the intersection of all these points, Sony Music head Rob Stringer last year floated the possibility of charging ‘a modest fee’ for ad-supported streaming in ‘mature markets.’ Given its success with the freemium funnel – and the fact that Apple Music doesn’t have an ad-supported tier – Spotify would presumably prefer not to do so.

Spotify Officially Launches Ad Exchange, New AI Tools, and More

Spotify launched several new advertising features, including the Spotify Ad Exchange and AI-generated ads, during its annual Advance event. The Ad Exchange is now available in multiple countries and supports real-time auctions for advertisers, offering full addressability and measurement capabilities. Spotify also introduced advanced targeting capabilities and outcome-based objectives in its Ads Manager. Additionally, the company debuted new measurement tools designed to connect ads with specific users, launched marketing offerings like AUX consultancy and Creative Lab agency, and performed a song by Lainey Wilson.