Megaphone by Spotify 2022 220

Bundling is all the rage among consumer tech services, and now Spotify is bringing a taste of it to podcasting. Beginning next month, it says Megaphone clients of its ad-insertion and hosting platform will have also have access to both Chartable and Podsights analytics. The bundle advantage will be there too, in that the additions will come at the same price point users are paying for Megaphone.

The move leverages two of Spotify’s recent additions – it bought Chartable and Podsights for a combined $87 million in February. Podsights remains a free-standing unit while Spotify has largely rolled Chartable into Megaphone. Earlier this summer Chartable began directing advertisers looking for analytics and attribution services to Podsights. Now in its latest move, Megaphone says putting both of its corporate siblings at the fingertips of users will help podcast publishers better understand their audiences and ultimately grow their businesses.

By using this trio of offerings, Spotify says publishers will be able to easily apply key analytics and measurement solutions across their entire podcast business. All Megaphone publishers will now be able to obtain unique audience insights while also gleaning the full impact of their promotional campaigns through tools like Chartable SmartPromos and SmartLinks. Megaphone publishers will also be able to drive demand from advertiser clients with the opportunity to apply Podsights ad attribution to direct sales campaigns at no added cost.

In the short term, Megaphone clients will need to access Podsights and Chartable separate from the Megaphone platform. But over time, Spotify intends to make it possible for Megaphone users to tap into these tools directly within the Megaphone experience.

“Over the past year, we’ve been strengthening Megaphone’s already robust offering to make sure it remains the best place for publishers to monetize and grow their podcast revenue,” said Emma Vaughn, Head of Advertising Business Development & Partnerships at Spotify Advertising. “This new bundle underscores our commitment to empowering our partners with audience insights and measurement tools that are integral to the success and scale of their businesses.”

The addition of Chartable and Podsights data deepens Megaphone’s already robust monetization and audience development tools. It also helps to differentiate Megaphone in the marketplace where other ad networks are also working to plug in new analytics features.

Advertising is becoming a bigger part of Spotify’s business. During the second quarter, advertising accounted for 13% of Spotify’s total revenue. That was nearly a third more than a year earlier. Spotify’s overall podcast revenue grew double-digits, led by the Spotify Audience Network where it said sold impressions grew triple-digits and with double-digit increases in CPMs.