Amaze Media Labs launches to create podcasts and events for brands

Three executives have teamed up to launch an agency which will create branded podcasts and branded events, sometimes in combination. Called Amaze Media Labs, the company’s purpose is to connect brands to their audiences “in authentic and meaningful ways.” There will be a specialty on virtual events at first, with the company looking forward to a resumption of in-person gatherings. The founding team comes from big business, not from podcast production or publishing. Continue Reading

NPR subscribes to Nielsen’s Podcast Buying Power service

Nielsen is justifiably bragging today that is has signed NPR, one of the world’s most powerful podcast publishers, to Nielsen Podcast Buying Power, an insight service which matches genres to consumer purchase behavior patterns. The service is founded on the big Nielsen Scarborough database of consumer survey information. Continue Reading

Triton Digital enters deal with Sounder, bringing dynamic ad insertion to Sounder’s podcast platform

Podcast management and monetization platform Sounder is announcing today an alliance  with Triton Digital to bring dynamically inserted ads to Sounder-hosted podcasts. The integration reportedly makes it easy for podcasters to bring revenue to their entire catalogs via audience-targeted ads. Continue Reading

Quake Media launches news-oriented subscription podcast service

Though some observers would wish that subscription-based exclusive podcast services would cease and vanish, neither is happening. The latest? Quake Media which announces its launch, funded by Wndrco and “a few other” undisclosed individuals. The roll-out content is verticalized as a news & politics destination, with six podcasts hosted by recognized news anchors. Five bucks a month to listen. Click through for details. Continue Reading

More is better, plus key knowledge points from Podsights Conversion Benchmarks report

Podcast attribution company Podsights has released a Conversion Benchmarks report (download HERE) that shines lights onto key factors in a successful podcast advertising campaign. In addition, a hefty appendix section illuminates parts of the anatomy of the podcast ad business. Click through for tons of detail, graphics, and a download link. Continue Reading

Podcast is a lean-in, attention-holding medium for advertisers (Canadian Podcast Listener)

In a “sneak peek” at the 2020 edition of the Canadian Podcast Listener research report, listening to podcasts is revealed to be an intensely attentive activity compared to social media, listening to music, and watching short videos. Listening to podcasts takes roughly the same level of concentration as checking news and watching shows. Although podcast advertising success metrics are not part of this preview, the report does obliquely mention value to marketers in a key takeaway, and it seems self-evident that an attentive, concentrated audience is favorable to advertising generally. Continue Reading

“Hello friends, we have a situation.” Covid reaches Rogan staff.

In an Instagram video, Joe Rogan — the world’s most successful podcaster, by consensus and most measurement — announced that a member of his production staff has tested positive for Covid. Production of The Joe Rogan Experience is halted indefinitely. Rogan speculates “deep into next week” before the show resumes. Continue Reading

SiriusXM closes Stitcher: 150M addressable audience, new lines of reporting, Pandora gets more podcasts

SiriusXM has closed its acquisition of Stitcher, three months after the July announcement that the satellite giant would buy the pioneering podcast company. Stitcher joins Pandora as a wholly-owned Sirius company. SiriusXM also has an exclusive ad sales partnership with Soundcloud. Today’s announcement puts the combined audience at 150-million listeners, and calls that reach “the largest addressable audience in North America across all categories of digital audio – music, sports, talk, and podcasts.” Continue Reading

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Steve Goldstein: Music Finally Meets Podcasts

by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein discusses spotify’s new feature which allows music into podcasts, via the Anchor service. He recognizes the important (while noting some clunkiness in the end product), and also notes that broadcast radio has spent years decreasing the role of “the passionate musicologist DJ’s of FM radios early days.” Continue Reading