Sponsorships

Spotify for Creators provides tools to help video creators embed host-read video sponsorships ads directly in video episodes on Spotify.

This monetization offering enables you to manage host-read sponsorships segments in your video episodes without permanently baking them into your episode prior to upload.

There are two ways to manage sponsorship segments in your episodes:

  • New: A new location where a sponsorship has not been baked in already. You’ll upload your asset and sponsorship details in Spotify for Creators.
  • Embedded: A location where a sponsorship is already baked into your episode. Since your asset is already baked-in as a part of your episode from a previous upload, you’ll simply identify the location and sponsorship details.

Eligibility

To set up Sponsorships, you’ll need to be a part of the Spotify Partner Program and have access to Episodes if you’re not the show owner or an admin.

There are no transactional fees when using Sponsorships on Spotify for Creators.

Creating a sponsorship

You’ll be able to find Sponsorships under the Sponsorships tab in your sidebar on Spotify for Creators or in the upload flow when you upload a video episode.

Using the Sponsorships tab:

  1. Log into creators.spotify.com
  2. Find the Sponsorships tab in your sidebar.
  3. Click Create sponsorship.
  4. Enter in the name of the sponsorship and the name/brand name of the sponsor.
  5. Upload your sponsorship video file/asset.
    1. Note: You’ll need to verify that the asset you’ve uploaded is host-read and not an advertiser-provided dynamic ad.
  6. Schedule the days that your sponsorship will play in the episodes you choose, or choose no end date.
  7. Target the episodes that you’d like for your sponsorship to appear on.
  8. Select the location you want the sponsorship to run in each selected episode.
    1. Note: These locations come from cuepoints you’ve previously set on an episode.
  9. Review your selections and click Create sponsorship when ready.

During a video episode upload:

  1. Under the Monetize tab, scroll down to Sponsorships.
  2. Click Add sponsorship location.
  3. Select your Sponsorship type.
    1. If you select New, add your timestamp and apply an active sponsorship if you’d like.
    2. If you select Embedded, select your start and end time within the episode in addition to giving the details of your sponsorship. Once added, you can find this sponsorship in the Sponsorships booking table.
  4. Review your selections and click Next to continue publishing your video episode.

Sponsorships that run through their end date will show as Completed under the Sponsorships tab.

Editing a sponsorship

Edit sponsorship to provide more timely sponsorship messaging to your audiences after you’ve published an episode.

Using the Sponsorships tab:

  1. On the sponsorship you’d like to edit click the three-dot menu and select Edit.
  2. You’ll be able to edit the sponsorship name, end dates, and episode targeting.

Updates typically take up to 1 hour to reflect on all platforms.

Removing/archiving a sponsorship

Remove sponsorships by archiving them.

Using the Sponsorships tab:

  1. On the sponsorship you’d like to remove, click the three-dot menu and select Archive.
  2. Click Archive.

You won’t be able to un-archive an archived sponsorship.

Understanding Sponsorships delivery

Sponsorships are delivered as part of your video episode on Spotify and are delivered as part of the audio version off-platform. Sponsorship segments deliver to all users across both video and audio, and are not personalized to listeners.

Once a sponsorship reaches its end date the sponsorship segment will no longer appear in your content – if it’s a baked-in sponsorship you’ve included, it will remain in your episode.

You can analyze consumption of your sponsorship segments through your sponsorships analytics.

Specifications

Sponsorships video files need to adhere to the following specifications:

  • Supported file types: MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, AVI, MPEG, OGG Video, 3GPP, FLV, and WMV.
  • Duration: No limit
  • Size: We recommend files up to 50MB

You can select up to 2 sponsorship locations per episode and cannot place a location within the first 30 seconds of an episode.

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