Google has made a move into programmatic audio advertising. The tech giant announced that audio ads are now available to all customers of its DoubleClick Bid Manager. The demand-side platform is rolling out the audio support with inventory from Google Play Music, Spotify, SoundCloud, and TuneIn. Pandora is slated to be added soon. Continue Reading
Entertainment hub and media player Plex announced that it has rolled out beta support for podcasts. Anyone with the Plex App can access the new feature now. Listening is available for free with a Plex account. Continue Reading
High 5 Media announced that it has acquired a majority interest in Spoke Media, a Dallas-based podcast company focused on branded audio. Spoke Media was founded by award-winning audiobook director Keith Reynolds. The company has created podcasts for Wondery, Midroll Media, Cinestate, The Dallas Morning News, and Busch. Continue Reading
Pandora announced a promotion for Lauren Nagel, a long-time exec with the audio company. Her new title is VP, Executive Creative Director, and in this role, she’ll be responsible for more broadly overseeing creative advertising work. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia is joining the bandwagon of original podcast production. The media conglomerate has inked a deal with Einhorn’s Epic Productions to create an original scripted podcast, the first for iHeartMedia. Continue Reading
Podtrac has updated its rankings with the top 10 podcast publishers and the top 20 podcasts for April 2018. The publisher ranking found that the U.S. unique monthly audience grew from the previous month for seven of the 10 publishers. The names on both monthly lists showed little change from the March rosters. Continue Reading
Apple Music has reportedly launched a new division for music publication. According to Music Business Worldwide, the division will work in operations, commercial, publisher relations, and A&R. The unit will be led by Elena Segal, who has been promoted from legal director of iTunes International to Global Director of Music Publishing for Apple Music. Continue Reading
Spotify has secured a partnership with Amy Schumer for the comedian to host and produce a podcast for the streaming audio platform. Her show, which doesn’t have a planned release date yet, will cover “pop culture, politics and the world of standup comedy.” Continue Reading
Mixcloud has secured a multi-territory licensing deal with ICE, a group offering music royalties administration across several European regions. The license for Mixcloud covers the repertoire from PRS for Music (UK), STIM (Sweden), and GEMA (Germany). Continue Reading
B2B music provider 7digital announced two developments. The company has partnered with Powerchord for a three-year deal in live music and events with the Peex brand. In addition, 7digital has been expanding the launch of streaming music service Juke, a collaboration with partner MediaMarktSaturn. Continue Reading
Canalys has released its latest numbers on smart speaker sales, and the research firm found that Google beat out Amazon for most units sold globally in Q1 2018. Overall, sales in this product category rose 210% to 9 million units based on Canalys’ accounting. Continue Reading
Today brings dual announcements from Pandora. First, the audio platform has completed its acquisition of AdsWizz, which was initially presented in March. The second item is Pandora’s addition of a family plan. Continue Reading