Sound Alliance gets hyped

May 5 2010, 1:45 pm | BY Kim Shaw | No Comments

Screen shot 2010-05-05 at 1.59.36 PM.pngSound Alliance, Australia’s leading independent online entertainment publisher, has formed a partnership with one of the world’s most influential music sites, The Hype Machine.

Sound Alliance will localise and represent the US-based online music site that aggregates thousands of Australia’s and the world’s most influential music blogs into one central place.  The site has achieved critical acclaim the world over, featuring on The Guardian’s list of The 100 Essential Websites and named “the master of music blogs” by Rolling Stone magazine. 

Screen shot 2010-05-05 at 2.01.47 PM.png“Only a music fan who is truly passionate about a song will take the time to write about it,” says founder Anthony Volodkin, “and that’s what ends up on The Hype Machine.” The site is one of the key places where musicians, labels, promoters and music lovers discover new music. 

The Hype Machine will be integrated into the Sound Alliance network of music sites that includes inthemix.com.au, FasterLouder.com.au and MessandNoise.com with a reach of over 690,000 domestic unique browsers a month (Nielsen Netratings, Market Intelligence, Domestic traffic, April 2010). 

Australia is the fourth largest audience for The Hype Machine globally, with around 100,000 Australians visiting the site each month. “We see huge growth potential in Australia,” says Volodkin, “and were impressed with the Sound Alliance business. We share many similarities in our independent approach and ethos, and are excited to be partnering with them.”

Sound Alliance Managing Director Neil Ackland says, “The Hype Machine is a perfect fit with our existing music community and content sites. The addition of The Hype Machine cements our position as the leader in reaching influential 18 to 30 year olds online.”

“We are constantly reviewing local and international opportunities, and this is one of a series of new media and product additions we are currently working on,” says Ackland. 

The Australian Hype Machine will launch with foundation advertisers Smirnoff, Adidas and Mazda. The site offers a variety of high impact ad formats, including banners, skins and rich media.