Instead of trying to take down all copyright-protected videos that its members post, MySpace announced it has partnered with Auditude, a new provider of patented online video advertising technology, and MTV Networks to enable ad opportunities within audience-uploaded videos. Auditude will allow advertising to be inserted across MTV Networks’ most popular video content uploaded to MySpace.
“Auditude is opening the floodgates for users to program video on MySpace and ensure copyright holders get paid,” said Jeff Berman, MySpace President of Marketing and Sales. “In one fell swoop, Auditude and its partners are empowering consumers and building a better business model. That’s a good deal all around.”
MySpace is leveraging a patented technology developed by Auditude that pairs automatic identification of virtually any professional video uploaded across the Internet with an ad platform that enables content owners to serve targeted ads within that content. With more than a billion minutes of professional content already indexed, Auditude is creating the opportunity for content owners to harness the power of audience-uploaded content and distributed video to activate an otherwise untapped revenue stream.
"Auditude’s mission is to grow the market for premium online video by unifying all aspects of distribution and advertising. We embrace the fact that online video is fundamentally social and created the identification technology and advertising platform to include the power of audience syndication – fans uploading content to the Web – as a form of content distribution. Our partnership with MySpace allows us to help content owners, like MTV Networks, reach their fans where they are most active," said Adam Cahan, CEO of Auditude. "We hope to grow the market for monetizing online video by simplifying ad targeting and providing scale through audience participation."
As part of the solution, Auditude announces the launch of the ‘Attribution Overlay’ which automatically identifies content informing viewers about details of shows being viewed online. The attribution also enables the content owner to integrate information about the video clip being played and provides an opportunity for the viewer to watch additional relevant content or have access to commerce links – for instance “buy show” – or merchandise related to that content. Video advertisers now have a usable channel to target audiences of premium content across the Web.
