Dive Brief:

• Pandora's new Harmonic Audio Network promises to provide advertisers an easy way to buy quality, exclusive in-stream audio inventory at scale, the company said in a blog post 
• Pandora is partnering with audio streaming publishers TuneIn and AccuRadio for the new network and expects other publishers to join. 
• The blog post described the network as an “alternative to traditional broadcast and digital audio networks” with scale, simplicity with quality as the key differentiators.

Dive Insight:

As listening options on digital platforms continue to proliferate, Pandora is looking to extend its business model and shore up its ongoing role by brokering ad deals for marketers on audio services other than its own. Facebook and others have taken similar moves as their advertising business has grown. 

According to Pandora, U.S. users are spending to more than four hours a day listening to audio, and quality of ad units for those listeners is an issue. The Harmonic Audio Network is described as “listener first” in creating an environment of quality that fosters engagement with content that will make the audience more receptive to brand messages.

The network’s inventory is exclusive between Pandora and its partners. As a result, frequency is kept at a minimum, allowing listeners to avoid repetitive ads. Pandora also wants advertisers to know that spots aren’t running within controversial programming or questionable user-generated content.

Pandora has also integrated with major buying systems, STRATA and Mediaocean, under the call letters PHAR-SM for those marketers that prefer an automated method of purchasing.

On its own platform, Pandora has been beefing up its advertising and marketing options such as the recent Artist Marketing Program and new ways to reach its audience including the ability to sponsor videos in order to give users more control over their free listening experience.