Spotify Jumps Into Video Advertising With Two New Products

Music-streaming service Spotify stepped into the video ad game Monday, announcing plans to launch two video advertising platforms optimized for mobile and desktop devices.

Spotify will now offer Video Takeover for desktop and Sponsored Sessions for mobile under its "Spotify for Brands" umbrella.

Video Takeover desktop ads are available in 15- and 30-second spots, while Sponsored Sessions mobile ads allow brands to sponsor a 30-minute period of uninterrupted listening. Users opt into the commercial free session by watching a 15- or 30-second ad.

The ads will show up for non-paying Spotify users, which the company says is about 30 million people.

''These new ad formats are perfect examples of the kind of high quality, high value experiences we want to offer our brand partners and our audience,' Spotify's chief business officer Jeff Levick says in a press release. YouTube

A short video clip from Spotify demonstrates how the two different ad platforms will work once launched.

According to the streaming service, a handful of brands will begin testing out the new ad formats starting in the fourth quarter. A few companies testing the video ads globally include Coca-Cola, Ford, McDonalds, and NBC Universal. Kraft Foods, Target, and Wells Fargo will test the products in the U.S.

There's no word yet on when the product will roll out to all brands and advertisers, but the Sponsored Sessions for mobile seem to be a good opportunity for brands to reach Spotify listeners on mobile devices. According to the company, the number of people listening on mobile has multiplied by three over the past year and the average cross-platform user is listening for 146 minutes each day.