Sax solo: Spotify launches own ad exchange

Spotify is introducing the Spotify Ad Exchange, or Sax.

Sax allows advertisers to access Spotify’s logged-in users via real-time auction, with full addressability and measurement capabilities.

Following a trial in Canada and the US with The Trade Desk using its OpenPath technology, it has now been rolled out to Google’s Display & Video 360, LiveRamp, Magnite and Adform, giving them access to Spotify’s suite of audio, video and display formats across music.

Podcasts are “coming soon” to Sax, the company said.

Sax is available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and the US.

Ads Manager additions

It works alongside the self-serve Spotify Ads Manager, which also has new capabilities to help brands better create, optimise and measure their campaigns.

The App Installs Objective allows advertisers to show ads to people who are likely to click and download their app, while the Website Traffic Objective enables brands to optimise their campaign towards people most likely to view their website.

Meanwhile, first-party measurement tool Spotify Brand Lift has been rebuilt to help advertisers better understand how their campaigns on the platform impact their brand metrics.

Spotify is also rolling out generative-AI ads that will enable advertisers to create scripts and voiceovers at no extra cost.

Gen-AI ads are available in the US and Canada via Ads Manager.

According to the company, overall ad revenue has more than doubled since 2020 and Ads Manager revenue grew more than 50% year on year in Q4 2024.

The announcements were made at the Spotify Advance event in New York on Wednesday.