Australian Radio Network to launch Spotify competitor

By By David Blight | 12 October 2012
 
Ciaran Davis.

The Australian Radio Network (ARN) will next year launch a music streaming service to compete with the likes of Spotify, with chief executive Ciaran Davis saying the platform will provide brands with a range of advertising and sponsorship opportunities.

The radio network will launch iHeartRadio in quarter one of 2013. The platform will not only aggregate radio stations from ARN and its 50% owner Clear Channel, it will also allow users to create their own personalised radio station based on their own interests.

Davis told AdNews: “If, for instance, you like U2, you can ask for U2 and in the background an algorithm is working which will then give you the ability to listen to a bunch of U2 music, or will allow you to listen to music which is a similar genre. The familiarity index is really something special.”

The platform has already been a major success in the United State. Davis said it grew to 10 million users faster than either Facebook, Twitter or Spotify, and said it currently sits at 50 million unique users.

He also said the platform will offer a range of “unique” advertising and sponsorship opportunities for advertisers. ARN has not yet signed any advertisers, with Davis saying the sales push will roll out shortly.

ARN still has to lock in deals with local music rights holder, however Davis said he was confident the company would be able to do so.

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