Screentime
Spotify CEO Sees an $18 Billion Opportunity in Selling Ads
- Big share of radio advertising to shift online, Daniel Ek says
- Streaming service banks on podcasts, artist ads for growth
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Spotify Technology SA built the world’s largest audio-streaming service by convincing millions of people around the world to pay for music. Founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek now sees an even bigger opportunity in advertising.
The U.S. radio industry generated about $18 billion in advertising sales in a recent year, and a large share of those dollars will shift online to services like Spotify, Ek said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “It’s obvious today that the music business is focused on paid subscriptions,” Ek told host Emily Chang. But radio advertising is “larger than the entire streaming industry is for music.”