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The many shades of podcast advertising (Ad Results Media)

Measurability of podcast advertising has been a hurdle for buyers and sellers across the entire life of the category. Despite many meaningful advances in campaign measurement across the decades of audience growth, efforts to educate and reassure buyers are often part of agency promotions. A new study from podcast advertising agency Ad Results Media is both informational and tutorial, per that company’s defining style. Click for details and the download link. Continue Reading

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James Cridland’s International Radio Trends – Radio in the car: and bad software

by James Cridland

In his latest column, James Cridland buys a new car and reports on its audio features — especially the radio tuner. DAB is there, and FM, but no AM at all. Not a crisis, he observes, because AM is simulcast on DAB. But there is unfavorable UX in other ways, and the screen fail one usability test after another. All this while James is at the 14th Atelier Radiophonique Romand in Switzerland, listening to Tomas Granryd discuss the EBU’s Connected Car Playbook. Swinging over to a review of that document, James finds a mix of great ideas and self-serving ones. As always, an interesting read. Continue Reading

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Steve Goldstein: AI Slop is Everywhere – and it’s getting worse

Guest columnist Steve Goldstein concentrates his latest article on “AI slop” — low-quality, generic, or soulless AI-generated content that clutters the digital space. Many AI products and enhancements feel like solutions in search of a problem. Yes, “AI” moves markets, but at what cost? Steve dives deep in his analysis of AI content, consumer reaction to it, and — crucially — five types of damage from sonic slop. A must-read. Continue Reading

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A high bar for growth, defying expectations, and more from Spotify to investors

In Spotify’s Q4 earnings call with investors, the word “podcast” was not spoken in the prepared remarks. Only when an investor asked about it in the Q&A portion did the company address its podcast business by name. In reply, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek numbered four ways in which value has been added to Spotify’s advertisers: “AI is one of those ways, video is obviously another one, podcasting is the third, audiobooks is the fourth.” Onekey point: Leaving the door open to charging for ad-supported listening. Click for key points and quotes from Spotify’s Q4 earnings call. Continue Reading