Spotify is now giving companies the opportunity to sponsor playlists on the popular streaming music platform.
Spotify has more than 400 in-house playlists, and brands can now choose to put their name on one of these for a set period of time in increments of one week. They can also choose to work together with Spotify in order to make their own playlist.
In an official blog post announcing the new opportunity, Spotify gives some statistics that illustrate the reach of some of its most popular playlists. For example, their Today’s Top Hits playlist boasts 8 million followers, while Rap Caviar has 3 million followers. Meanwhile, the ElectroNOW and Hot Country playlists attract 2.5 and 2.4 million followers respectively.
The post states: “With Sponsored Playlist, it’s all about matching the playlist to your marketing goals. Think content plus context; the right message in the right moment.”
After a company finds the perfect playlist, Spotify will help drive streams with brand marketing, native promotion, and social tools. The ads are served in the sponsored playlists as usual, but the first ad break is given to the sponsor, who is also given category exclusivity. The In-Playlist Media package will also include premium native logo placement and 100% display SOV.
It is easy to see how some brands might be a great fit for this type of sponsorship. For example, fitness clubs or athletic wear brands might want to sponsor a playlist featuring upbeat workout music. A cruise operator, meanwhile, might want to sponsor a playlist featuring music with an island vibe.
There is a broad range of opportunities available. Some playlists are listened to more often on mobile, while others tend to be used on the desktop while at work, for example.
Kia has already used this approach for the launch of its new Sportage with New Music Friday. According to Adweek, McDonald’s and Target have both bought sponsorships in beta.
Spotify boasts more than 90 million listeners, one third of whom are paying $9.99 per month to be subscribers. The remainder use the free streaming option and are served ads between the songs. Spotify recently announced that its Discover Weekly playlist, which changes each day and is different for each Spotify member, has registered 5 billion song plays from around 40 million users in just under a year.
Sponsored playlist is already available in the U.S. and is currently in beta in the UK. Other markets are expected to be added later this year.
