SpokenLayer has announced its expansion into Australia with the launch of SpokenLayer Australia in partnership with SCA.
SpokenLayer is the US’s leading provider of short form audio content for voice assistants, smart speakers and podcast platforms. The company specialises in the creation, distribution and monetisation of short form audio content in partnership with publishers and brands.
The end-to-end solution turns text into human voiced audio which is then distributed to Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and a number of other platforms.
The partnership with SCA will enable SpokenLayer to access SCA’s vast network of professional voices and enables advertisers to access SpokenLayer’s growing network.
SpokenLayer CEO, Andy Lipset, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with SCA as we bring SpokenLayer to Australia and also New Zealand. With digital audio consumption showing massive listenership and smart speaker penetration increasing every quarter, Australasia is a natural place to extend SpokenLayer’s presence to. With SCA’s infrastructure, relationships, and native understanding of audio, coupled with SpokenLayer’s technology and ownership of short form, we know advertisers and publishers are going to find incredible success working with our team there!”
SCA CEO, Grant Blackley, said: “We’re excited to partner with SpokenLayer as it enters the Australian market and SCA has a depth of professional voices across Australia. Audio is an incredibly innovative medium, and with smart speaker ownership growing and Australians spending more time at home, we’re seeing demand for text to voice grow dramatically. We see these text to voice briefings as complementary to our existing assets in podcasting and radio streaming giving advertisers access to a highly engaged and growing digital audience.”
There are more than 5.7 million smart speakers in Australia, which has the greatest concentration per capita globally. Smart speaker consumption has grown by 50% month on month since March this year with 3.2 million Australians having at least one smart speaker in their home, according to SCA*.
SpokenLayer recently launched daily news briefings for five publications as part of a new partnership with Australian Community Media (ACM). Led by The Canberra Times, the ACM partnership will also see SpokenLayer producing and distributing daily briefings for The Ballart Courier, The Launceston Examiner, The Border Mail and The Illawarra Mercury.
SpokenLayer already partners with leading US publishers such as Hearst, Time and Conde Naste, producing content for more than 200 titles including Techcrunch, Time’s The Brief, The Economist and The Los Angeles Times. The ACM titles will add to its growing Australian roster which includes a daily gaming news update from leading gaming publisher Press Start and the Coronavirus Australia Daily Update.
SpokenLayer Country Manager ANZ, Michael Richardson, said: “There’s a real appetite from our smart speaker partners for human voiced short from audio content. With consumption exploding in recent months now is the right time for companies to build their audience in audio. Our partnership with SCA will help drive this growth.”
*Source: SCA iQ
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About SpokenLayer
SpokenLayer is the leader in short-form audio production, distribution, and monetization for media and brands. We distribute content everywhere people are listening – Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Spotify, iTunes and beyond. Based in the heart of New York City and recently launched in Australia, we’re backed by Beasley Media Group, Guardian Media Group Ventures, Betaworks, North Base Media, Graham Holdings, Matter VC, Southern Cross Austereo and other amazing investors.
About Southern Cross Austereo
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is one of Australia’s leading media companies reaching more than 95% of the Australian population through its radio, television and digital assets. Under the Triple M and Hit network brands, SCA owns 99 stations across FM, AM and DAB+ radio. SCA provides national sales representation for 34 regional radio stations. SCA broadcasts 92 free to air TV signals across regional Australia, reaching 4.4 million people a week, with Nine Network programming and advertising representation across Australia’s East Coast, Seven Network programming in Tasmania and Darwin, and Seven, Nine and Ten rocvheprogramming in Spencer Gulf. SCA operates Australia’s leading premium podcasting network - PodcastOne Australia – and provides Australian sales representation for global open audio platform SoundCloud. SCA's premium brands are supported by social media, live events, video, online and mobile assets that deliver national and local entertainment and news content. https://www.southerncrossaustereo.com.au/