Dive Brief:
- Google’s Play Music service features curated playlists and now includes a free version supported by ads from Google’s Display Networking.
- Ad formats include TruView video ads, Lightbox ads and banner advertisments.
- An ad-free version of the service is available via a $10 per month Play Music subscription.
Dive Insight:
For U.S. users, Google launched a free version of its curated Play Music service supported by ads from the Google Display Network. On the desktop version of Play Music, retargeted text ads are also served. The service is part of Google’s Songza acquisition from last year and includes an ad-free version that users can subscribe to for $10 per month.
Google’s Play Music competes with Spotify’s free ad-supported music playlists and Apple Music’s curated music streams available via subscription. Adweek points out that one of the big implications of Google Play Music is better data for targeting. Similar to Pandora and Spotify, Google's offer is based off of ad-supported streaming; both of those streaming services have worked into improve targeting through, for example, programmatic buying. Plus, marketers stand to expand their audience reach with greater visibility.