Advertising in music services, and ad technologies that power it.
Media technology company WideOrbit announced the hiring of Brian Burdick as EVP of Digital and Programmatic. Burdick will step in as head of WO Central, the company’s buying and selling platform, as well as recent acquisitions Fivia, Abacast, and Admeta. WideOrbit is investing aggressively in acquisitions and talent. Click through for details. Continue Reading
Spotify is launching a television ad campaign in the UK that ties in with talent competition X Factor. There will be two spots airing each week until the end of November. The first will tell a story about people listening to music, and the second will be related to the weekly theme of the singing show. Continue Reading
Triton Digital announed today that it is DAAST-compliant, among the first technology providers to fully adopt the proposed audio advertising standard. DAAST was developed by the IAB and its Digital Audio Ad Serving Template Working Group. Triton’s announcement applies to its recently launched Tap advertising platform, released in September. DAAST is a technical ecosystem in which advertisers, publishers, agencies, and consumer playback devices are aligned to coherently deliver and track streaming audio advertising. Continue Reading
STRATA, a media buying platform that connects advertisers with media publishers, has re-positioned Pandora’s ratings profile on its dashboard, separating it from radio stations, according to Inside Radio and RAIN News sources. The action represents the latest twist in a long path of Pandora competing against U.S. broadcast radio for advertising dollars. RAIN spoke to several sources for comment. Continue Reading
As streaming audio advertising gradually becomes more personalized to the listener, localized ads increasingly appear. One solution — registration data — gives audio publishers a way to sell inventory on a regional basis, so listeners in a state or city hear streaming commercials localized at that level. In our recent ad-stalking, we wanted to anecdotally track how much city-localized advertising was delivered by Pandora in a 90-minute listening session. Continue Reading
Global digital audio ad network TargetSpot announced the launch of a new business development division today. Heading up the unit is VP of Business Development Thierry Ascarez, long-time VP of Business Development at Radionomy. Ascarez now holds both titles. RAIN spoke to Ascarez to flesh out the details. Continue Reading
AudioHQ announced a partnership with online radio service Jango for audio ad sales starting in 2015. According to the press release, Jango reaches 3 million listeners in the U.S. each month with its service for social and customizable music stations. This is the second deal to be announced within the past week for AudioHQ. Continue Reading
Pandora’s Q3 earnings call on Thursday marked an anniversary of the one-year directorship of CEO Brian McAndrews. McAndrews told a story of record-breaking financial results, and slowing audience growth. Wall Street punished the company severely in after-hours trading following the late-afternoon call, and in today’s formal session. Continue Reading
AudioHQ has entered into a digital distribution and sales partnership with TeshMedia Group. Under this arrangement, AudioHQ will develop streaming programs based on existing radio programs, and create marketing opportunities for the new lifestyle content. Podcasts and 24/7 streams are in the works, CEO Matt Cutair told RAIN. Continue Reading
Anyone interested in buying, selling, or supplying technology for digital audio advertising should know about the upcoming standard specification for audio ads — DAAST (Digital Audio Ad Serving Template). Next Thursday, October 30, the IAB will host a webinar to introduce the proposed standard in a different format. Registration is free and open to everyone. Continue Reading
Programmatic ad buying is established in web display, but still a fairly new alternative for online radio and streaming audio. “It is a very important that we offer it as part of the mix,” Alexis van der Wyer, CEO of ad-tech company AdsWizz told RAIN. “I strongly believe that although it’s small in volume today, it will continue to grow. It will be an important component.” We spoke with the AdsWizz CEO before he takes the stage at RAIN Summit Europe. Continue Reading
Buying media is easy. Getting people to watch commercials is not. That’s the premise behind Pandora’s new Sponsored Listening program. The new initiative just launched with two brand partners, Fox and Sony PlayStation. Continue Reading