CES 2025: Spotify's Lee Brown on matching media investment to audio's consumption

Ad tech dominated the CES experience again, with ease as a key tenet of conversations across the week.

Making the advertising experience easy for brands and agencies is a top priority for Spotify in 2025. The digital audio giant has opened up programmatic capabilities for advertisers of all sizes by testing its own ad exchange.

Still, according to WARC, In 2024, audio will account for 24.5% of ad-supported media consumption in the US but just 8.4% of ad spend.

Spotify's VP and global head of advertising, Lee Brown, joins The Current Report to break down why that is.

_______

To read the full stories included in this episode:

• Beyond the gadgets, ad tech and AI are center stage at CES 2025: https://bit.ly/4j6Wdxz
• The first TV merger of 2025 could be a sign of things to come: https://bit.ly/3Pyn9sF
• Spotify launching an ad exchange: https://bit.ly/4fVAEgJ
• Addressing the audio investment gap: https://bit.ly/40DebAR

_______

The Current Report is our weekly news roundup of what’s happening in the world of digital media. We headline topical stories every edition — everything from connected TV to retail media networks to new initiatives around identity — offering our fresh take on why it's relevant for the marketing community. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/45HIaXH

_______

Each week, The Current gives you the most critical innovations in advertising that are happening on the open internet — identity, the future of TV, retail media, and beyond. Born inside The Trade Desk, The Current is a news platform dedicated to covering the latest in modern marketing — all from the front lines. Speaking to the marketing world’s most influential players, we explain what these seismic shifts mean, how they are happening, and why they are taking place: https://bit.ly/3SAM0wR