In one of the most interesting podcast network ideas we’ve heard of, ART19 has collected restaurant servers, chefs, and bartenders to produce shows about the service industry. It’s called the One Star Network, and the launch marketing promises “hilarity and humanity.” Click for show rundowns. Continue Reading
Townsquare media released its Q4 earnings this morning. In a note detailing results sent to RAIN from CEO (and RAIN Summit keynote speaker) Bill Wilson, he described 2020 this way: “Although we are proud of our roots and DNA in local radio and we continue to love local radio, 2020 was the year Townsquare became a ‘Digital First’ company.” Click through for more detail, plus a table, provided by Wilson, which compares TSQ results with six other radio groups. Continue Reading
New podcasts of note.
CNN 5 Things (CNN)
Unexplainable (Vox)
The Genius Generation (TRAX from PRX)
The live-audio meeting app Clubhouse has announced the launch of a creator accelerator program with an open application program. Twenty recipients will be selected and provided with material assistance and matching with potential brand sponsors with a guarantee of at least $5,000 monthly revenue. Continue Reading
by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein gets real about podcast creators getting their shows into the mobile devices of prospective listeners, and then actually getting played as a separate challenge. “Our smartphones are loaded with the great intentions of downloaded podcasts that are never listened to.” Brace for numbers-based reality.
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Omny Studio released a raft of interesting data illustrating a truism of media: Success is concentrated at the top. How many downloads does it take to be in the 1%? Or the top 50%? Click through for graphs. Continue Reading
The Latin American (LATAM) market is an important and growing business for music services, so it makes sense that it would be for distribution to those services. One of the leading such companies, TuneCore, has announced its expansion into LATAM countries. Tunecore localizes its efforts, building out member websites in 13 languages. The company pays out about $1M per day in artist royalties. Continue Reading
Jottings of note:
— Will Page’s new book
— The Podcast Academy rebrands
— New leadership for vCreative
— AdLarge promotions Continue Reading
In a peculiar perception vs. reality quirk, more Americans recognize the Pandora name than any other online audio brand, but Spotify is the online audio brand used more often. Click through for graphic illustrations. Also — how does smart-speaker ownership affect which audio service Americans listen to? Continue Reading
While listening trends are changeable on the whole, American in-car listening routines are decidedly un-modern. AM/FM radio, owned music files, and CDs are the most-used sources. Online streaming and podcasts are making gains, hampered by an 80% lack of in-dash entertainment systems in the American car fleet.
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The “early innings” meme expressed by many leaders of podcast publishing and advertising appears proved out in the 2021 edition of The Infinite Dial 2021. Weekly podcast listening is up year-over-year … but with a long way to grow. Continue Reading
After 19 years of eager growth, listening to online audio among Americans has settled for three years at about two-thirds of the 12+ population. To be precise, 68% in the just-released Infinite Dial 2021. The number skews to younger ages. Continue Reading