This week, Spotify announced a strong start to the year after the release of our first quarter 2024 earnings report. Our total number of monthly active users (MAUs) increased to 615M globally (up 19% Y/Y).¹

Of these MAUs, 388M are ad-supported (up 22% YoY), while ad-supported revenue increased by 18% YoY²—reflecting double-digit Y/Y growth across all regions, spanning music and podcasts. Podcast advertising revenue, in particular, was driven by significant growth in impressions sold across Original and Licensed podcasts and the Spotify Audience Network, which saw high single digit Q/Q growth in participating publishers and shows.

Our unwavering hunger for innovation and improvement fuels this sustained growth—not just to products and services made for consumers and creators, but to those made for our advertisers, too.

Below, we share our top five Q1 highlights for advertisers of all sizes—and some thought starters to help you reach and engage new audiences on Spotify throughout the rest of 2024.

1. Canvas for Advertisers brings popular looping visual to Spotify’s ads manager, helping self-serve advertisers tell dynamic stories with a single ad

In January, we launched Canvas for Advertisers—enabling self-serve advertisers to enhance their audio ads with the immersive, full-screen, looping visual that often accompanies songs when played on the Spotify app. Available exclusively in Spotify’s ads manager—and free to use—this companion asset helps brands tell their visual story as listeners focus on their screens.

Research we conducted with Neilsen found that listeners exposed to both the audio and full-screen visual of a brand's ad at the same time experienced uplifts in both aided awareness and purchase intent, compared to not hearing an ad at all.³ Read the full story to learn more.

2. AUX paves way for brands to connect with Spotify listeners through unique, music-driven campaigns

In February, we announced AUX, Spotify’s in-house music advisory agency for brands. “Spotify is always looking for ways to leverage our music ecosystem to deepen the connections between artists, brands, and fans,” said Jeremy Erlich, VP, Head of Music Content at Spotify. “AUX is a natural step for us to help brands strengthen their music strategy and better connect with new audiences through our expert insights and observations from our music team, tailored to meet brands’ needs.”

Through AUX, our first partner Coca-Cola was able to connect with Peggy Gou to support its Coke Studio campaign—creating the foundations for a long-term partnership that will span live concerts and events, social media content, a branded playlist, and more. Read the full story here.

3. Podcasters of all sizes, including brands, can now use the Podcast Streams objective to help increase their show’s audience

In March, the new Podcast Streams objective launched on Spotify’s ads manager. Now, podcasters of all sizes can easily promote their shows to listeners who are more likely to stream podcasts on Spotify. That includes brands with a podcast that they’d like to leverage as a form of branded content to build a more personal connection with their customers.

With the number of global podcast listeners projected to reach 500 million in 2024, the launch of the Podcast Streams objective creates a timely opportunity for brands to take full advantage and grow their streaming audience.

4. Spotify’s Live Experience offering kicks off with two events to enable IRL interactions between brands and fans during culturally relevant moments

Q1 2024 saw the launch of our Live Experience offering, created to help brands tap into cultural relevance, reach new audiences, and build fresh fandoms.

To kick off the year, we produced and curated FanDuel’s VIP party in Las Vegas, featuring live performances by Kid Cudi and Calvin Harris. That was followed by Samsung’s two-day live experience in Chicago—an immersive, art-soaked activation that gave the stage to a lineup of Fresh Finds talent, and which more than 500 music fans came together to enjoy.

“Our goal with our live events offering is always to deliver memorable experiences while aligning with business outcomes at highly relevant cultural moments,” said Brian Berner, Global Head of Sales & Partnerships at Spotify. “Whether it’s Samsung, FanDuel, or any brand that’s looking to engage with their audiences in real life, we want to help marketers strengthen their bond with fans and the creators they love.”

5. Music Videos launches in BETA to augment the Spotify experience for fans—and create richer engagement opportunities for video advertisers

Spotify isn’t just for listening—and the BETA launch of Music Videos across 11 markets is the latest affirmation. Since March, fans in these markets have been able to toggle between audio and video when streaming select music, allowing them to dive deeper into an artist’s work.

The release paints an intriguing picture for advertisers. More video content on Spotify is likely to mean increased time spent interacting with the app, as fans browse for content, curate playlists, switch between audio and video, and more. It also means video ads—which are only served when the app is in focus—will feel even more native to the Spotify experience.

Sources:

1. Spotify Q1 2024 Earnings Report, investors.spotify.com, April 2024
2. Spotify Q1 2024 Earnings Report, investors.spotify.com, April 2024
3. Nielsen Study ‘Spotify Ads Player 2.0’, Jan 2023
4. Number of podcast listeners worldwide from 2019 to 2024, Statista, June 2023 </Footnote