Absolute Radio, Spotify and YouTube are among the first brands to sign up to the Internet Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) new Audio Council, aimed at boosting the value of the digital audio ad market.
The newly formed council will explore how to further educate brands of the benefits and value of digital audio advertising along with helping audio firms develop their business models.
The council has signed members from all areas of the audio sector including pure play companies Spotify, YouTube, Myspace, Last.fm, Tesco’s Blinkbox and Mixcloud, and media owners Absolute Radio, Bauer, and Global Radio.
Meanwhile audio creative specialists to join include Red Apple Creative; market research firm AudienceNet and radio advertising and creative specialists RadioWorks and Maple Street Studios.
The launch is aimed at helping audio companies adapt swiftly to continuously changing consumer music listening habits across multiple digital channels.
The IAB’s editorial manager and council chair Stuart Aitken, said: “Audio is a sector that we expect to experience enormous development in the coming months and years.
“This group is represented by some of the most exciting companies in not just the audio space, but in the digital sector as a whole. I am looking forward to working with all of them in the coming year.”
The council will spearhead a research project in conjunction with AudienceNet throughout 2013 aimed at showing the scale and reach of audiences for online audio and examining consumer attitudes to advertising within the space. Members will meet on a quarterly basis.