I had a conversation once with someone who was doing a music startup for a while. He said his startup pivoted to podcasts (specifically for executives/business people) because it was easier to make money.
I notice this most on the Ezra Klein podcast. I don't think it's Spotify that's helping this podcast achieve this functionality, but in future Spotify will certainly be providing this ability to podcast producers, if it isn't already.
I'd expect that in the near future the podcasts you listen to will be dynamically stitched together so that I hear ads tailored to me, which are different from the ads you hear. Different users will also get different ads loading.
Edit: no, I was wrong. Apparently they match you with sponsors but the ads are recorded by the podcaster.
https://gimletmedia.com/shows/startup/94heaz/thanksgiving-in...