Cell provider AT&T is dropping Spotify from its service bundles. Competing streamer Pandora also bundles into AT&T plans, and that deal appears to be remaining intact. No reason appears evident for the decision. Continue Reading
APM announced two new appointments: Joanne Griffith as Chief Content Officer, and Thomas De Napoli as Chief Strategy Officer. Griffith returns after a previous stint at NPM; she will be head of podcasts. De Napoli was already in APM; this is a promotion for him. Continue Reading
Global audio streaming service Deezer has developed and launched a fresh take on the mood-based music playlist genre. It’s called Flow Moods. It is an infinite playlist of the user’s favorite tracks, adjusted with a new Flow Moods wheel in the Deezer app. The company refers to this UX feature an Emotional Jukebox. Continue Reading
In Podtrac’s Top Podcast Publishers monthly ranker for September, out this week, we learn that average audience was down month-over-month, and average downloads were up. We present the Podtrac ranker, and the RAIN Remix — which re-sorts the list by average number of plays, and listeners, per show for each publisher. Click through for details and charts. Continue Reading
Podcast measurement company Podtrac released its Top 20 Podcasts ranker for September, based on unique U.S. monthly audience. As in past months, there is little change in the roster or audience. Only one new show entered the list from the previous month. Click for graphic illustration. Continue Reading
In a multi-faceted, wide-ranging announcement, Spotify is expanding its audience network to Anchor podcasts, and plans other moves intended to benefit creators and advertisers. The overall thrust is to broaden the range of podcasts and advertisers, and facilitate how those groups do business on the platform. Spotify is also the first company to join a presitigious consortium focused on digital media safety. Continue Reading
It’s called HIDDEN HEROES and will launch Oct 12 on global podcast network Acast. The project is a joint distribution effort of Acast and UNICEF. The Gates Foundation is supporting this podcast as well. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— A treasure? (Australian Liberal Party)
— InnovAItion (Instreamatic & A Million Ads)
— Friendly with Podcasting (Conan O’Brien & Earwolf)
Global podcast company Audioboom has signed two hit shows: Interview podcast The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe and true-crime show RedHanded. Continue Reading
UK-based Global has grabbed Remixd, a tech startup specializing in turning text to audio. Remixd technology is geared to text publishers wishing to enter the audio and audio advertising fields. Presumably the Remixd function, if adopted by major text publishers, will add content, inventory, and targeting opportunities to Global’s platform. Continue Reading
Jacobs Media has released its Public Radio Techsurvey 2021, the latest in an annual canvas of public radio listeners. In a rich array of survey results, we see that podcasting is adopted at a higher rate than in the general U.S. population. Click through for tons of detail, graphics, and a download link. Continue Reading
James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this week’s edition: Classy radio exits. Reporting of inept radio. Praise for Pierre Bouvard’s data-based advice. And more. Continue Reading