Spotify video ads
In-stream and in-feed video, produced natively for both portrait and landscape and bought as part of a plan rather than as a standalone experiment.
Where video fits on Spotify
Video on Spotify is served when someone is actively in the app rather than listening in the background. It is a smaller pool of moments than audio, but a more attentive one, which makes it useful for the parts of a story audio alone cannot carry.
In-stream video
Full-screen video served during active browsing sessions, in portrait on mobile and landscape on desktop.
In-feed video
Video placed within the browsing experience, produced with the different viewing context in mind rather than reused wholesale.
Production
Concepting, scripting, shooting or motion design, edit, grade, sound mix and delivery to specification.
Adaptation
Existing brand film reworked properly for Spotify, including reframing, retitling and remixing to the required audio levels.
Placement strategy
Deciding where video earns its higher production cost and where audio does the job more efficiently.
Measurement
Pixel-tracked outcomes and view metrics read against the objective, not celebrated in isolation.
The first three seconds decide the other twenty seven
Video on Spotify sits inside an app people opened to do something else. Earning the rest of the view means giving someone a reason to stay almost immediately, which is a writing problem before it is a production one.
Built for portrait and landscape from the start
Spotify serves video in both nine by sixteen and sixteen by nine, and desktop is limited to landscape. Producing one aspect ratio and cropping it later is how you end up with subtitles off the edge of frame and logos cut in half.
| Specification | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Maximum length | Up to 30 seconds |
| Aspect ratios | 9:16 portrait and 16:9 landscape. Desktop is 16:9 only |
| Resolution | 720 by 1280 portrait, 1280 by 720 landscape, or similar HD |
| File types | MOV or MP4 |
| Maximum file size | 500 MB |
| Bit rate | 198 kbps for ideal quality, 320 kbps maximum |
| Audio levels | RMS normalised to minus 14 dBFS, peak normalised to minus 0.2 dBFS |
| Not accepted | Interlaced video, black bars, or silent creative |
Platform figures and specifications quoted across this site come from Spotify Advertising and Spotify's published quarterly results. They change, so treat them as a starting point and check the current documentation before you plan a budget.
Video that works with the sound on and without it
Spotify video runs during active browsing, when someone is looking at the app. That is a genuinely attentive moment, but it is also a short one, and audio may or may not be the thing carrying the message depending on the placement.
We build for both. Type-led storytelling that reads silently, an audio track that stands on its own, and a first three seconds that gives someone a reason to keep watching.
- Native production in nine by sixteen and sixteen by nine, not one cropped from the other
- Legible type sizing checked at phone scale, because that is where it is seen
- Audio mixed to the platform requirement rather than left at whatever the edit exported
- Cutdowns and variants produced together so testing does not need a second shoot
- In-feed and in-stream versions supplied where the placements differ
Frequently asked questions
How long can a Spotify video ad be?
Spotify accepts in-stream video creative of up to thirty seconds. Shorter often performs better, particularly for direct response, but thirty is the ceiling.
What aspect ratio should we produce in?
Both. Spotify supports nine by sixteen portrait and sixteen by nine landscape, and desktop is limited to landscape. Producing natively in both avoids the compromises that come with cropping after the fact.
What file format and size does Spotify accept?
MOV or MP4 up to 500 MB, at a bit rate of around 198 kbps for ideal quality and 320 kbps maximum. Interlaced video, black bars and silent creative are not accepted.
Can we reuse our existing social video?
Often, with work. The reframing is usually straightforward but the audio mix rarely meets Spotify's normalisation requirement, and social edits frequently rely on burnt-in captions sized for a different feed. We handle the rework.
Is video or audio better value on Spotify?
They do different jobs. Audio buys reach in the moments people are not looking at a screen, which is most of the listening time. Video buys attention in the smaller window when they are. Most plans we build use audio for scale and video for the parts of the message that genuinely need to be seen.
Other things we handle
Ready to scope this properly?
Two minutes on the enquiry form and we will come back with a view on whether this is the right channel for the objective, and what it would take to run it well.