Cuepoints
Cuepoints exist within Megaphone to note where an ad or sponsorship segment can be inserted into an episode. There are two types of cuepoints: ad locations and sponsorship locations. Cuepoints cannot overlap with other cuepoints.
What you’re able to insert will depend on whether you have a video or an audio episode and your eligibility for monetization.
Ad Locations
An ad location is a timestamp that Megaphone uses to note where an ad can be inserted into an episode.
Ad locations are set in the ad locator tool.
There are three different types of ad locations:
Pre-rolls: Pre-rolls typically play at the very beginning of an episode before the episode content starts to play. They’re designated in the AdLocator with purple nodes.
Mid-rolls: Mid-rolls typically play throughout the episode with a quick note from the host that an ad is about to run. They’re designated in the AdLocator with red nodes.
Post-rolls: Post-rolls typically play at the very end of an episode after the episode content has finished. They’re designated in the AdLocator with yellow nodes.
Within the ad locator, you’ll be able to edit your audio segment to either remove a portion of the audio or replace an existing segment with a dynamic ad. These segments only affect the audio version of your episode, and do not remove content from the video played on Spotify.
"Remove" segments let you exclude audio segments from distribution without re-editing or re-uploading your episode.
"Replace" segments substitute audio segments with ad markers for dynamic ad insertion. This is an easy way to replace “baked-in” ads in your episodes with dynamic ad locations without re-uploading the audio file.
Sponsorship Locations
Megaphone provides tools to help video creators embed host-read video sponsorships directly in video episodes on Spotify. This monetization offering enables you to manage host-read sponsorships segments in your video episodes without permanently baking them into your episode prior to upload.
Within the locator tool, you’ll also be able to edit your video episode segment to either replace or remove an existing video segment with a sponsorship.
Under the Create tab, click Edit ad locations.
Click Sponsorship.
Select your Sponsorship type. There are two ways to manage sponsorship segments in your episodes:
New: A new location where a sponsorship has not been baked in already. You’ll upload your asset and sponsorship details in Spotify for Creators.
Embedded: A location where a sponsorship is already baked into your episode. Since your asset is already baked-in as a part of your episode from a previous upload, you’ll simply identify the location and sponsorship details.
Select the locations you want sponsorships to run within your episode. You can add up to two sponsorship locations per episode.
Review your selections and click Save to continue publishing your video episode.
Please note that if you would like to replace a baked-in sponsorship with a new sponsorship, you should select “embedded,” which will allow you to set an end date. Once that end date is reached, a new sponsorship can fill that existing location so long as the episode is targeted - no need to replace the location with a “new” sponsorship location.