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CMA Podcast Brand Strategy

Spotify rolls out its podcasting platform Megaphone in four European markets

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By Hannah Bowler, Senior Reporter

October 20, 2021 | 3 min read

Spotify has rolled out its podcasting publishing platform Megaphone in Germany, Spain, France and Italy as European podcast ad spend is forecasted to double to $233m by 2023.

Spotify brings Megaphone to four European markets

Megaphone launches in Europe as podcasting ad spend is on course to double by 2023

The introduction of Megaphone in Europe follows eMarketer research that podcast listening now reaches 20-30% of internet users in those four markets.

Launched in 2015 and acquired by Spotify in December in a deal worth $235m, Megaphone facilitates publishing, analytics and monetization. The application hosts 30% of the top 200 podcasts on Spotify and Apple and in the past 12 months has doubled its publisher number in markets outside the US.

Spotify is set to add resource to Megaphone’s European expansion, growing local sales and support teams in the region.

The platform has plans to introduce new audience-based insight features, targeting capabilities for direct sales and supplemental demand sources in the coming year.

CMA probes UK music industry

Elsewhere, the UK’s competition watchdog is to probe the dominance of big record labels and streaming platforms such as Spotify to assess if musicians are getting a fair deal.

Launched off the back of a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) report that called for an overhaul of the streaming system, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to compile a market study that will determine the need for a full investigation and government legislation.

CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said the music industry had evolved “almost beyond recognition” over the past 10 years, with streaming now accounting for more than 80% of all music listened to in the UK.

“A market study will help us to understand these radical changes and build a view as to whether competition in this sector is working well or whether further action needs to be taken,” Coscelli said.

The government report published in July noted that three-quarters of the UK recording market is controlled by the three biggest music labels – Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music. The government argues that the system allows the bigger labels to negotiate advantageous deals with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music.

CMA Podcast Brand Strategy

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