Brands
Spotify Opens Up Advertising Opportunities for Brands in India
MUMBAI: Spotify, the world’s most popular music streaming service with over 207 million active users, launches today in India on mobile, tablet and desktop, offering brands a new platform to connect with consumers in an exciting, targeted and impactful way.
Available for free to all in India today, Spotify lets people discover the right music for every moment, across hundreds of devices, allowing them to soundtrack their lives. When music fans stream in these moments, they reveal who they really are, the moment they are in, and even their moods; this first-party data and insights comprises Spotify’s Streaming Intelligence. For brands and marketers, this presents an unparalleled opportunity to serve the right message, to the right person, in the right context.
Upon launch, OnePlus, Brand USA, and Anheuser-Busch InBev will have exclusive rights to launch their advertising campaigns on Spotify India. Through Spotify, these brands will be able to reach out to highly engaged, passionate and socially active users.
Advertising on Spotify
Today, consumers are streaming music through various devices from the time they wake up to winding down at night and everything in between, putting music front and center of their daily lives. These new habits are creating massive shifts in the consumer journey, prompting a renewed focus on the role of audio in people’s lives.
Fully localized, the Spotify experience in India brings to brands an incredibly engaged audience. Globally, Spotify Free users spend an average of 2.5 hours each day listening to music on the platform through multiple devices.
Brands will benefit from:
Premium content environment: Spotify prides itself on being a premium environment that celebrates culture and creativity by bringing artists, fans, and brands together. The content on the Spotify service is licensed from our partners or created by our in-house team.
Multimedia ad experiences: Compelling audio, video, and display ad formats available that help brands tell their story to the right audience in the right context.
Just as music is social, so is Spotify. Music fans can create and discover playlists, and share instantly with friends on Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, Line, WhatsApp, text and email. This is especially significant for advertisers, who are constantly seeking insights for what is popular and share-worthy by their core target audience.
Sunita Kaur, Vice President of Advertising Sales at Spotify, APAC said, “Spotify’s connection to culture and understanding of how music is consumed allows us to build personal relationships and trust with our fans. The Indian advertising industry is thriving as brands target active internet users. We are thrilled to launch in India with three incredible, diverse brands and we are exploring more opportunities to bring other advertisers on board in this market, creating a new playground for them to reach audiences through the power of audio and our streaming intelligence.”
“We are extremely excited to be the launch partners for Spotify in India! We are core believers in the power of music and its ability to unite individuals across boundaries; with this collaboration, we further solidify our pursuit of building and shaping communities centered around this space. We are positive that this partnership will result in newer avenues of genre exploration and sharing, with consumers becoming more receptive to and appreciative of the intricate nuances of the soundscape, through the large bank of music available on the portal. Looking forward to what’s in store for both, Spotify and us”, Kartikeya Sharma, VP Marketing – South Asia, ABInBev.
Tracy Lanza, VP, Integrated Marketing, Brand USA, said, “We are thrilled that our partnership with Spotify will now extend into India, which is one of our top markets. Music is a universal language that transcends cultural boundaries and we continue to use it as an instrument to engage with international travelers. Through this launch, we look forward to bringing the unique and powerful sounds of U.S. destinations to a new music-loving audience.”
Spotify comes to India offering the best listening experience in local and international music, with the Spotify app available to download for free or with an upgrade to Spotify Premium for only INR 119 per month. The Spotify app is now available on mobile, desktop, and tablet and can be played on a wide range of speakers and home devices.
Brands
33 per cent of women believe the salary scale is rigged: Naukri report
Voices @ Work study finds rising calls for equal pay audits and lingering bias
MUMBAI: Progress may be visible in India’s workplaces, but many women still feel the need to tread carefully. A new report by Naukri reveals that one in two women hesitate to disclose marriage or maternity plans during job interviews, worried that such information could influence hiring decisions.
The findings come from the second edition of Naukri’s annual Voices @ Work International Women’s Day report, titled “What Women Professionals Want.” Drawing insights from more than 50,000 women across over 50 industries, the survey sheds light on evolving workplace aspirations alongside the biases that continue to hold women back.
One of the report’s most striking insights is the growing demand for equal pay audits. The share of women calling for regular pay parity checks has climbed to 27 per cent this year, up from 19 per cent a year ago. The demand now stands alongside menstrual leave as the most sought after workplace policy.
Interestingly, the call for pay transparency grows louder higher up the income ladder. Nearly half of women earning between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore annually say equal pay audits are a priority, suggesting that pay gaps become more visible as women move up the career ladder.
At the same time, confidence and ambition appear to be rising. About 83 per cent of women say they feel encouraged to pursue leadership roles, a significant jump from 66 per cent last year. Cities in southern India appear particularly supportive, with Hyderabad leading the way as 86 per cent of respondents there reported encouragement to step into leadership positions. The education sector recorded the highest sense of encouragement at 87 per cent.
Yet the report also highlights a growing trust deficit around pay equity. Nearly one in three women, or 33 per cent, say they do not believe men and women are paid equally at their workplace. That figure has risen from 25 per cent last year, pointing to widening perceptions of disparity as careers progress.
Bias in hiring and promotions continues to be the biggest hurdle. About 42 per cent of respondents say workplace bias is the main challenge for women from diverse backgrounds. The concern is consistent across major metros, with Chennai and Delhi NCR reporting similar levels.
Reluctance to discuss personal milestones during hiring processes is also widespread. While 34 per cent overall said they hesitate to share marriage or maternity plans in interviews, the anxiety increases with experience. Among professionals with 10 to 15 years of work experience, the figure rises to 40 per cent.
Info Edge group CMO Sumeet Singh, said the data reflects both progress and unfinished work. “Behind every data point in this report is a woman who is ambitious. The fact that 83 per cent feel encouraged to lead is something to celebrate. However, the fact that one in two still hide their marriage or maternity plans in interviews tells us the work is far from done. As India’s leading career platform, it felt not just important but necessary for us to shine a light on these gaps through the second edition of our report,” he said.
The report suggests that while ambition among women professionals is growing, structural changes around pay transparency, fair hiring and supportive policies will be key if workplaces hope to keep pace.
