Quick Hits: Interviews from Spotify, Pacific Content, and a Sonos neuroscientist

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:

Spotify’s programmatic plans: AdExchanger sat down with two Spotify execs – CRO Jeff Levick and Head of Programming Solutions Jana Jakovljevic – to talk about the streaming platform’s plans for programmatic advertising. “We can generate all sorts of insights into our users because they’re all logged in,” Jakovljevic said. “We know what time of day they’re listening, what they’re listening to, what device they’re listening on and where they’re listening from.”

When companies sponsor podcasts: Nieman Lab profiled Pacific Content, a media company that produces branded podcasts. Steve Pratt, Pacific’s director, gave the publication an interview about the company’s philosophy behind this type of branded content and why it can work.

Sonos taps into neurological research: Sonos has made a reputation as a top purveyor of luxury at-home wireless speaker systems, but the company is doing more than pushing units. It contracted neuroscientist and author Daniel Levitin to help with research into how music listening is tied to environment, interpersonal interactions, and biometric responses. Levitin talked to Billboard about the research, offering a fascinating look at the science behind what we feel when we press play.

Anna Washenko