Sound and vision: where the industry is at with programmatic audio

In 2018, a surge in audio streaming prompted the fastest growth in UK music consumption since the late 90s. Listens via platforms like Spotify have increased by 51.8% since 2016, to cover some 68 million albums.In the US, meanwhile, on-demand streaming now accounts for the majority of audio consumption. In 2019, consumption of on-demand streams reached 611 billion in 2018 marking a 49% bump year-over-year.Podcasting is a booming business too, with the number of weekly podcast listeners in the UK having almost doubled in the past five years to reach 5.9 million pairs of ears each week.Audio streaming is having a moment but compared to other automated formats it’s been slow to catch on with spend still minuscule compared to programmatic display, video and native.In world where people are oversaturated by display ads, connected devices are on the up and where brands are looking for pinpoint measurement, the likes of Spotify are trying to get marketers to funnel more budgets into programmatic audio.The platform has teamed up with other players in the space like Google, its exchange partner Rubicon Project and Adobe to take their pitch to marketers around Europe with a series of 'Love Audio' events.