Spotify to Suspend Sale of Political Advertising on its Platform

Spotify has recently announced that it will soon be halting the sale of political advertising on its platform, Ad Age is reporting. The music streaming giant has said in a statement that it does not yet have the “necessary level of robustness in its process, systems and tools” to responsibly validate and review this type of content.

“We will reassess this decision as we continue to evolve our capabilities,” Spotify said while revealing that it will pause political advertising in early 2020 across its ad-supported tier, which boasts 141 million users as well as the company’s original and exclusive podcasts.

Presidential hopefuls such as Bernie Sanders and organizations such as the Republican National Committee have both advertised on Spotify. The move only applies to the U.S., as the company does not run political ads in other countries. 

Though the company declined to share how much revenue it generates from political ads, a person familiar with its advertising business said it’s not a significant revenue generator for the company, especially when compared to Spotify’s largest money makers, such as entertainment ads for movies or shows. 

Spotify’s latest policy covers political organizations such as candidates for office, elected and appointed officials, Super PACs, nonprofits and political parties.