Spotify has extended its advertising suite to India with the launch of Spotify Ad Exchange (SAX) and Generative AI Ads, offering local advertisers access to tools that were previously available in select global markets.
Highlights
This rollout follows Spotify’s recent global expansion of the services and aims to support the growing demand for advanced digital advertising capabilities in India.
Programmatic Advertising Through Spotify Ad Exchange
At the center of the launch is Spotify Ad Exchange (SAX), a programmatic advertising solution that uses real-time bidding (RTB) to automate ad placements on the platform.
This gives advertisers the ability to reach Spotify’s logged-in user base through major demand-side platforms (DSPs) such as Google Display & Video 360, The Trade Desk, and Magnite.
With this infrastructure, advertisers can simultaneously bid for the same ad slot in real-time, with the highest bid securing the placement.
This process enables more accurate audience targeting, better campaign control, and improved ad performance efficiency. Spotify notes that this is the first time advertisers in India have been provided with full addressability and performance measurement across its ecosystem.
Performance Insights from Internal Analysis
An internal study conducted by Spotify, analyzing over 350 campaigns through Google DV360, found that programmatic campaigns using SAX delivered an average incremental reach of 11.5% — all without increasing overall media spending.
This contributed to reducing redundant impressions and maximizing unique audience reach, offering more efficient campaign outcomes.
Generative AI Ads Now in Ads Manager
In addition to programmatic buying, Spotify has introduced Generative AI Ads via its Ads Manager platform. This tool enables advertisers to automatically generate ad scripts and AI voiceovers, helping create studio-quality audio ads at no additional production cost.
Advertisers can choose AI-generated voiceovers based on age, gender, and tone, as well as upload or select background music from Spotify’s audio library.
This functionality is intended to simplify and speed up ad creation, making high-quality production more accessible to small and medium-sized businesses.
Integration with Global DSPs and Support for Audio & Video Ads
SAX is now fully integrated with leading DSPs, giving advertisers access to Spotify’s suite of audio, video, and display ad formats across music content. Podcast ad support is not yet available in India but is expected to be introduced in the near future.
Privacy Measures and Brand Safety Tools
To support privacy-conscious targeting, Spotify has implemented identity solutions such as Unified ID 2.0 (UID2), PAIR (Publisher Advertiser Identity Reconciliation), and RampID.
In addition, partnerships with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science (IAS) help provide brand safety verification, offering advertisers confidence in content alignment and campaign transparency.
Spotify’s Growth and Strategy in India
Since its entry into the Indian market in 2019, Spotify has seen notable growth. As of December 2024, the platform has approximately 57 million monthly active users and 91 million unique visitors, making India one of its top five markets globally by user base.
With the introduction of advanced advertising tools like SAX and Generative AI Ads, Spotify is aiming to localize its global advertising infrastructure for the Indian market, in line with the region’s expanding digital audio ecosystem.
While the premium tier of Spotify in India remains ad-free, these features are directed at users of the free-tier service, offering brands more ways to engage with a large and diverse audience.
