Spotify’s Podcaster Contracts Illuminate the Company’s Ad Ambitions

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Spotify released its third-quarter earnings this week during which it spent time talking about the state of its ads business. Ad revenue made up 13% of total revenue at 385 million euros, or around $384 million, and the company emphasized the importance of its podcast business on that figure. In particular, it called out the Spotify Audience Network, or SPAN, its programmatic ad marketplace that inserts commercials into podcast episodes, as a big reason for its podcast ad revenue growth. S old impressions for the quarter grew “strong double-digits,” the company said, while CPMs increased “double-digits.”