The Media Leader is the leading source of analysis, data, opinion and trends in commercial media and advertising.
Hosted by senior reporter Jack Benjamin, we speak to senior industry leaders and rising stars about the key challenges media faces as part of our mission to stand up for courage, inclusion and excellence in media.
Find out more at uk.themedialeader.com and subscribe to our daily newsletter.
Ed Couchman, head of sales for the UK and Northern Europe at Spotify, joins Ella Sagar to talk about the company's long-term advertising ambition, its podcast and audiobook strategy, Apple's app practices and how kindness should not be seen as a weakness.
He underscores the commitment to CEO Daniel Ek's goal of generating 20% of revenue from advertising and describes a "longer-term aspiration" for Spotify's advertising sales.
Couchman says: "We do want in the long term for the ad sales to reach $10bn – so a real sizeable revenue contribution to the overall business."
Elsewhere, he reveals the streamer's "case-by-case" podcast strategy and how he would hypothetically like to see advertising in audiobooks.
Couchman also expands on his recent column on how kindness at work is never a weakness, pointing out why it "has never been more needed" in the industry.
Highlights:
03:38: Why kindness in media and advertising leadership is a superpower
10:07: Spotify's long-term advertising ambition
12:48: What's next for non-exclusive podcasts?
15.15: Growing the audiobook market
17:16: The audiobook advertising dream
18.28: Spotify's "Time to Play Fair" campaign taking aim at Apple
23.55: Why are you passionate about media?
---
This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic.
Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media.
LinkedIn: The Media Leader
Threads: @TheMediaLeader
Twitter: @TheMediaLeader
YouTube: The Media Leader
