Open audio and streaming platform SoundCloud has made a play for the Australian market once again, inking a new sales partnership with Southern Cross Austereo (SCA).
As part of the deal SCA will serve as the single point of contact for advertisers in the market to reach SoundCloud’s audience.
The platform had originally closed the doors of its Australian office in 2017, less than a year after it had announced strong intentions to grow its market position.
The service has continued to operate locally during this time, with advertisers able to purchase ads programmatically through the US.
“The partnership with SoundCloud will enhance SCA’s ability to provide advertisers with extraordinary reach in the digital audio space." SCA chief sales officer Brian Gallagher said.
"We are looking forward to bringing real scale to the digital audio marketplace with our combined offering."
SoundCloud’s audio and video inventory will be available programmatically and directly, exclusively through SCA, beginning April 1.
SoundCloud chief operating officer Michael Weissman emphasised that Australia remained a key market for the brand in its global strategy, welcoming the opportunity to engage with local advertisers directly again.
"We look forward to offering advertisers more opportunities to reach our audience of tastemakers who are driving what’s next in music culture," he said.
“With SCA as our dedicated partner, we’ll be able to leverage their incredible reach and leading sales support team as we continue to grow our service in Australia.”
Despite the return to local ad sales, the Australian market continues to be dominated by global music streaming giant Spotify, which last year scrapped its traditional ad model, allowing users to skip ads they weren't interested in.
While Google-owned platform YouTube launched its own music streaming platform in May last year.
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