Trending News: Spotify Q1: 1B Euros; total revenue +20%; 615 monthly usersSteve Goldstein: Navigating The Real Risks Of AI-AudioAudacy Sports launches today, solving a “clunky” problem and better serving advertisersRAIN Notes: Wednesday, April 24Acast annual report: Defending and defining the podcast ad marketSpotify exits the IAB; podcasting particularly affected; a signal of extraordinay self-sufficiencyRAIN Notes: Tuesday, April 23James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Networking but sounding local; and could the BBC go commercial?Radio World announces “Best of Show” recognition at NAB 2024Sports fans are avid audio users … and big spenders. Advertisers take note. (SiriusXM)NPR and SiriusXM win Triton’s March U.S. Podcast RankerRAIN Notes: Wednesday, April 1714.5M to 1k across 758 shows: The Podglomerate gets (us) drunk on follower dataDigital audio ad revenue reaches new high for 2023 (IAB annual report)Audioboom Q1: revenue growth; 110M downloads; average CPM +27%. “Exactly as we hoped.”RAIN Notes: Friday, April 12“I spent millions” — Jordan Harbinger’s three lessons to podcast advertisersRAIN Notes: Wednesday, April 10Podcasts on Substack? $100M worth, and Substack is promoting the featuresFlight Studio, AI-intensive podcast media company, launched by serial entrepreneur from hit podcastSpotify extends AI playlisting with, well, “AI Playlist”RAIN Notes: Wednesday, April 10Podtrac Podcast Industry Ranking (with RAIN Remix): Two new participants grow list to 22RAIN Notes: Tuesday, April 9Acast leads top podcast publishers / networks globally; YouTube poorly representedAudioboom expands sales staff with two hires in a “strategic move”RAIN Notes: Friday, April 5Podcast listeners are receptive to ads, and likely to act on them: Sounds Profitable studyJames Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Closures and bereavementsMarch podcast launches reach 13-month low. Episode production also tracking lowSteve Goldstein: Insights From Leaders At The TopStability rules podcast ad rates in 2024 (so far): Libsyn AdsRAIN Notes: Tuesday, April 2U.S. recorded music revenue hit new high ($17B) in 2023, but not when adjusted for inflation; streaming rules.RAIN News changes for the bet– well, it changes.Leading online radio service AccuRadio to debut revolutionary new user interface driven by human gesturesResearch: Evaluating effectiveness of podcast talent-voiced ads in different scenariosPodcasting: $43B in 2032? (Market.us)Podcasting reaches for 100M weekly listeners: Infinite Dial 2024 (Edison Research)Streaming audio sets new annual record: Infinite Dial 2024 (Edison Research)RAIN Notes: Wednesday, March 27Senior Execs and podcasts: Signal Hill spotlights a unique listening demoRAIN Notes: Tuesday, March 26Indigenous Screen Office (Canada) partners with Acast for inaugural podcast programTriton Digital deepens its relationship with Sounder by acquiring itRAIN Notes: Monday, March 25Testing and measurement: keys to podcast ad efficacy (Veritonic research)Audacy erases the Cadence13 brand, creates Audacy Podcasts.10.2% growth of global music industry; initial coverage of IFPI annual reportAudacy launches AI + transcripts to “hyper-target” podcast listenersAdvertiseCast rebrands as Libsyn Ads, folding more plainly into parent companyRAIN Notes: Wednesday, March 20February podcast ad spend dips; 12 of top 15 are repeatersSpotify launches “Podcast Streams,” a listener targeting program for podcasters at all levelsEdison Podcast Metrics releases top new podcasts of 2023Mark Mulligan: Global recorded music revenues grew by 9.8% in 2023New digital audio ad firm Audire launches in 3 regions, offers 150M reach with “cost per full listen”NPR and SiriusXM win Triton’s February U.S. Podcast Ranker with flexible sorting optionsRAIN Notes: Thursday, March 14Triton Digital partners with ID5 for privacy-first audience dataNeil Young plans Spotify return, as the reason for it (Joe Rogan) becomes inescapableU.S. local ad spend 2024: $172B, near-even split of traditional and digital (BIA)“New Heights” wins Podcast of the Year at iHeartPodcast AwardsAI-programmed radio (HD) launches in Nashville, powered by Super Hi-FiMore buyers and more buying: MusicWatch Annual Music Study 2023“TV is what is playing in God’s waiting room” — and more media insights from Westwood OneSteve Goldstein: Podcasters Are Grappling With How To Make YouTube WorkWarner preps acquisition of digital music firm Believe; AIM objectsSpotify to hike subscription rates in France in dispute with a targeted tax hikeRAIN Notes: Thursday, March 7Spotify’s new “AUX” connects advertisers with musicians for in-concert and on-platform holistic partnershipsStreaming radio show wins top award at Country Radio SeminarAudioboom renews five podcasts representing 90-million downloadsiHeartMedia Q4: Digital Audio Group continues to uplift revenue storyPodcast ad rates rose (a bit) in February: Libsyn AdvertiseCast“Strong growth across all segments” — UMG releases earnings and predicts layoffsASCAP reports record-breaking revenues for music creators in 2023 annual reportLive365 stations gain wider distribution via Audacy / SoundStack dealListeners say: Keep audio ads simple and not too loud. (Veritonic & RealEyes)RAIN Notes: Monday, February 26Podtrac Global Delivery metrics (plus RAIN Remix)Steve Goldstein: What People Are Doing When They Aren’t Listening To Your PodcastJanuary ad spend on podcasts surpasses December, Sports dominates (Magellan)Music rights investment firm democratizes long-tail sale of song catalogsAd types, visitor rates, and more in new Podscribe benchmark reportRAIN Notes: Tuesday, February 20The Podcast Academy releases nominees for The Ambies awardsArabic pod platform Podeo partners with messaging app imo, massively increasing distributionRAIN Notes: Wednesday, February 14YouTube overtakes Spotify for podcast listening in new Cumulus / Signal Hill studyEfficiency is the clarion call as SiriusXM initiates second layoff in a year.Acast achieves first positive adjusted EBITDA in Q4.IAB/MRC formulates measurement guidelines for $1.2B augmented reality segment (AR)92 downloads is good. 43,654 is better. Podcast benchmarking from Omny StudioStreaming music reaches 20% of all U.S. listening. Podcasts at 11%.Steve Goldstein: What People Are Doing When They Aren’t Listening To Your PodcastRAIN Notes: Thursday, February 8Spotify Q1: Exceeding expectationsBBC plans new stations via DAB digital deliveryRephonic / PodMatch advice to most podpreneurs: “Stop. Start a business instead.”

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Tidal gets minority stakeholder at $250M price tag

Anna Washenko
News
April 7, 2015
0 Comments

The flood of news for Tidal continues apace today. The latest update is that the hi-res streaming service helmed by Jay-Z has found a new stakeholder in Sprint and its parent company SoftBank. Unnamed sources told the New York Post that the minority stake is likely worth about $250 million.

Tidal has reportedly held talks with SoftBank and private-equity firm KKR to discuss raising money. Considering that Jay-Z purchased the platform for a mere $56 million, quickly getting high-profile supporters to the tune of that many millions is a nice vote of confidence.

The round-up of recent news for Tidal includes a formal relaunch of the service as an artist-centric streaming platform, a Q&A with Jay-Z, and some serious misadventures with offering exclusive content.