In his latest guest column, Amplifi Media chief Steve Goldstein dishes a year-end review of podcasting in 2024. From the election to YouTube’s ravenous appetite. From Spotify’s envy to radio companies on edge. From public radio’s erosion to Sirius XM’s pivot. From subscriptions to audiobooks. This is a year-end must-read. Settle in. Continue Reading
In most of the podcast consumer studies we receive, two main measurement types are prioritized: Size of audience, and how those audiences respond to ads. In the just-released The Canadian Podcast Listener (CPL), an annual report produced by Canadian audio research firm Signal Hill Insights, both points are boldly surfaced in the public research summary. Click for details, graphs, and link to the public deck. Continue Reading
We thought it would be interesting to make a list of lists — specifically, year-end top-10 lists of best True Crime podcasts, 2024. True Crime is a venerable podcast category, one progenitor of which was the Serial podcast. Click for the big graphic. Continue Reading
— Staying Current (Magellan AI)
— Level Of Interest (A Google Search Comparison)
— Another Hill Climbed (Brian Lakamp) Continue Reading
In the monthly reckoning by Livewire Labs, we learn that Spotify for Creators remains (unsurprisingly) the top hosting platform for November. Spreaker, as #2, continues its rise after overtaking third-place Buzzsprout in April. The #1 and #2 podcast hosts have been converging toward each other for a few months, based on number of new episodes published per month. Continue Reading
Edison Research has released its Top 25 Podcasts in the UK for Q3 2024. Edison’s Podcast Metrics product is unique in that it is not dependent on podcast download data and does not require podcast networks to opt into its service — so, any podcast is a candidate for listing. Edison surveyed a minimum of 2,000 weekly podcast listeners in the UK. Click for results and RAIN’s year-over-year comparison. Continue Reading
This holiday season, AccuRadio, one of the world’s leading online radio services, is stepping up to protect listeners from the ultimate seasonal pitfall: Hearing the song “The Little Drummer Boy.”
“We have a foolproof plan to help our listeners stay safe from that song this holiday season,” announced Kurt Hanson, Founder and CEO of AccuRadio.
AccuRadio’s initiative supports the Little Drummer Boy Challenge — a playful annual game in which countless holiday music lovers aim to avoid hearing “The Little Drummer Boy” for as long as possible, from 12:01am local time on Black Friday through 11:59pm on December 23rd.
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Triton Digital released the October edition of its US Podcast Ranker, listing the top 150 shows. The default sorting of this list is by weekly average downloads, and that is the metric we use here. Click for month-over-month and year-over year for the top shows. Continue Reading
Kobalt, the world’s largest independent music publisher, has acquired an equity stake in leading music licensing company Slipstream. The result is a licensing/content behemoth. The announcement from Slipstream says the deal “brings together complementary technology and expertise to serve the entire music publishing ecosystem, from the world’s top songwriters to brands and creative businesses of all kinds. This significant alliance comes on the heels of Slipstream’s acquisition of Anthem Entertainment earlier this month, also covered by RAIN. Continue Reading
In-car technology research company Quu has released its 2024 In-Vehicle Visuals Report, examining radio’s place in top-selling new U.S. vehicles. It is also the inaugural year for this study. Staunchly pro-radio Quu states “With so much listening happening in cars, we must identify our strengths and weaknesses.” In addition to study results, we reveal detailed key takeaways from six industry experts. Continue Reading
Spotify, the most popular music streaming service in the world, serving over 100 million tracks to 240 million monthly active users, does not have a high-resolution (“lossless”) audio option. That lack is an unusual lag for a dominant consumer service which leads the industry with many other consumer innovations. The missing piece could be plugged in soon. Continue Reading
The firehose of podcast advertising research brings a new deck from AnalyticsIQ, an Atlanta-based research consultancy. The study is titled Podcast Listening Behaviors, and takes its data from Pew Research Center, Forbes, and the IAB.The report’s thesis hangs on two basic facts: Podcasts have grown in popularity, and that growth is an opportunity for marketers. We dive into the numbers.
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