Quick Hits: The 2018 predictions begin; SoundCloud CEO interview; podcast discoverability

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:

Mark Mulligan looks ahead to 2018: It’s that time of year where the leading minds of the music and audio worlds begin to put together their predictions for a new year. Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research has published a blog post offering projections across the fields of music, video, games, and technology. He also offered an assessment on how well he did with anticipating 2017

SoundCloud CEO is still serious about the company’s roots: SoundCloud has had an interesting year, to put it mildly. Billboard caught up with Kerry Trainor, who took over as the audio company’s CEO in one of its many big changes during 2017. Trainor emphasized SoundCloud’s reputation as the first place where artists at all degrees of popularity share their early work first. “I think some of the most exciting activity on SoundCloud centers around artists posting unfinished works in progress and asking their audience, ‘What do you think?’ Fans love giving feedback and being a part of that journey, and I would advise creators to take advantage of that openness and directness,” he said.

The experts weigh in on podcast discoverability: The industry regularly hears concerns about podcast discoverability floating through the air. Jacobs Media reached out to several industry leaders to get their takes on the severity of the issue and how to address it. Eric Nuzum, SVP of original content development for Audible; radio futurologist James Cridland; Otto Radio VP of Content Reenita M. Hora; and Emily Barocas, podcast lead for NPR One are just some of the familiar names who shared their thoughts.

Anna Washenko