Spotify is shutting down Ambassador Ads, the feature that has allowed podcasters in the U.S. to monetize their shows as long as they had at least 1,000 listeners during the past 60 days. The company will instead shift its focus to its Automated Ads program which connects creators with vetted third-party brands through the Spotify Audience Network.
Unlike Ambassador Ads, which has been U.S. focused, Spotify says Automated Ads is a more scalable advertising solution for podcast creators around the world, offering greater flexibility of ad placement and ad volume. The program is currently available in the U.S., Canada, U.K. Australia, and Brazil on an invite-only basis, but Spotify plans to roll it into more countries.
“We recognize that our ads monetization offerings have evolved over the past year. We believe these new updates to our ads monetization offerings will allow us to focus on bringing scalable ads solutions like Automated Ads to creators globally,” it says in a blog post. “We are continuing to improve existing tools like Automated Ads and our podcast subscription offerings, to continue our mission of helping creators earn money for their podcasts.”
Automated Ads is an invite-only program where voice-talent-read ads are selected and inserted into host-selected ad breaks through the Spotify Audience Network. That means a show needs to be hosted by Spotify in order to be eligible. The ads play across Spotify and other listening platforms where a podcast is distributed. Podcasters earn 50% of the revenue for each ad placed on a show with Automated Ads.
Automated Ads play in the ad breaks that you insert in your episodes. Ads may not always play for every listener, because they're subject to advertiser demand for your audience. Podcasters are given the ability to exclude certain ad categories. There are also certainly limits, such as an ad break cannot be inserted in the first 10 seconds of an episode.
Spotify says Ambassador Ads will no longer be available after February 14. Existing eligible creators may continue to earn up until the last campaign ends on that date, but it has already stopped accepting new applications for the program.