Spotify India makes the case for audio as India's next big advertising frontier

As India's digital advertising landscape evolves at breakneck speed, one medium that has quietly been gaining ground is demanding louder attention: audio. At the recent unveiling of the dentsu-e4m Digital Advertising Report 2026, Arjun Kolady, Head of Sales at Spotify India, made a compelling case for why brands should redirect their focus from screens to sound.

With seven years at Spotify under his belt, Kolady has been on the frontlines of what he calls "putting audio front and center in India." But it hasn't been an easy sell. "Most people in this room don't wake up thinking, 'Oh my God, I want to do something on audio,'" he admitted candidly. His mission: convince marketers that audio isn't just about the "fun, cool, sexy stuff",  but a medium that delivers measurable business results.

According to ComScore data, Spotify India boasts approximately 115 million monthly active users, positioning it as the third-leading OTT platform in the country. But the real revelation lies in engagement metrics. Spotify users spend nearly eight times more time on the platform than they do on social media, which is a staggering statistic in an era where attention has become the ultimate currency.

To put this in perspective, Kolady pointed to the IPL final, which generated 16.7 billion minutes of viewing time. Impressive, certainly. But audio platforms like Spotify are generating roughly three times that engagement every single month, without needing a marquee sporting event to drive traffic.

"Here we are looking for opportunities of incremental reach, finding that quality time which is not crowded, which is not auctioned to the bidder who can fight the hardest for that microsecond of attention," Kolady explained. "It's a crazy amount of time, and it's there for us for the taking."

Kolady emphasized that audio consumption is fundamentally different from other digital media. It's sequential, consumed when "your hands are busy but your mind is free," and often experienced through headphones, creating an intimate, attentive environment. Unlike visual media, you can close your eyes, but "you can't turn off your ears."

This inherent characteristic makes audio a naturally high-attention medium, something Spotify has spent years measuring. Working with research firms like Amplified Intelligence, Adelaide, and Lumen over the past three years, the platform has documented that audio drives significantly closer attention than most other platforms.

Perhaps most compelling is audio's role as what Kolady called "an oasis of calm" for younger generations. In an age of doomscrolling and digital detox, audio streaming platforms have become mental health resources; places where consumers go to feel good.

"It's very difficult to say that about media platforms these days," Kolady noted. "But audio streaming, music, and podcasts are places that leave consumers with a very positive mindset."

This emotional connection explains why Spotify consistently ranks as the number one home-screened app globally, occupying what Kolady described as "probably the most expensive real estate with any consumer."

As brands continue their obsession with visual platforms, Kolady argues they're missing crucial opportunities. Audio reaches consumers in moments that screens cannot: during workouts, commutes, while cooking, or even through smart speakers and connected cars.

"People actually spend most of their lives without a screen," he reminded the audience. "These are the moments where you have never been able to go before." For an industry constantly seeking the next frontier, perhaps the answer has been playing in our ears all along.