SPOTIFY ADDS MEGAPHONE

Spotify continues to bulk up its podcast infrastructure, acquiring the advertising and publishing platform Megaphone. It has been widely reported that the deal is worth $235m.

Spotify Chief Content & Advertising Business Officer Dawn Ostroff said Megaphone’s technology will help “accelerate smarter podcast monetization for advertisers and podcast publishers.” Megaphone Targeted Marketplace will be used in tandem with Spotify’s recently unveiled Streaming Ad Insertion, which allows podcast publishers to offer more-valuable podcast audiences to advertisers based on confirmed ad impressions.

Advertisers will be able to activate across Spotify’s Original & Exclusive podcasts while scaling reach through the Megaphone Targeted Marketplace. For podcast publishers, the acquisition unlocks tools that will help them earn more from their work. This includes the opportunity to opt in to have their content monetized.

Following the close of the transaction, Spotify will make Streaming Ad Insertion available to all podcast publishers on Megaphone, the first time this technology will have been made available to third parties.

“We are still in the early chapters of the streaming-audio industry story, but it is absolutely clear that the potential is significant,” Ostroff said.