Spotify says there’s more to life than music

Spotify will launch its first global campaign of the year, dubbed 'Music, Meet Podcasts' during the 72nd annual Primetime Emmy Awards, airing on ABC Sunday. 

The campaign will break with a 30-second hero spot that includes animation and a soundtrack and cameos of musical artists and podcast hosts, ranging from Khalid and Ariana Grande to culture critic Jemele Hill and the hosts of horror podcast “The Last Podcast on the Left.”

The spot was created in-house with media placed by UM.

The eclectic mix of entertainment styles and personalities featured in the spot emphasises Spotify’s commitment to broaden beyond music streaming and become a major force in podcasting.

After Spotify’s Emmy launch, the streaming platform will roll out a series of digital ads contrasting music and talk. “Retribution,” a track by Pusha T and featuring Kehlani, starts one 15-second spot which ends with a snippet from “The Two Princes” podcast. Another juxtaposition ad flips from a Lil Baby song to a billboard image promoting “The Michelle Obama Podcast.”

The digital spots will run in the US and in 22 global markets on social media, digital outlets and out-of-home advertising.

Podcasts are booming, estimated to reach more than 100 million Americans monthly, with listenership steadily ticking up year-over-year, according to The Infinite Dial 2020 research report, produced by Edison Research and Triton Digital. More than a third (37%) of Infinite Dial respondents said they listened to a podcast monthly in 2020, compared to 32% in 2019. 

Despite the loss of a daily commute, COVID-19 has boosted podcasting’s popularity. And there are more ways to access podcasts than ever. According to Edison Research’s July Share of Ear study, 53% of the total time spent listening to audio entertainment in the US was  through digital devices, like mobile phones and smart speakers. Pre-coronavirus, 45% of people’s time devoted to audio entertainment went through digital devices.