RAIN Notes: Monday, March 14
Jottings of Note
— Smart v2.0 (APM)
— ‘Tis the Season (Edison Research)
— Following the Followers (Rephonic)
Author: Brad Hill
Libsyn launches “social movement” initiative for Women’s History Month
Podcast hosting/tech company Libsyn today released plans for illuminating and amplifying the voices of women in podcasting, as part of Women’s History Month. The company calls its initiative a social movement. It’s a three-part grassroots effort to shine spotlights on women in the field. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Thursday, March 10
Jottings of Note
— Programmatic Need (Heather Osgood)
— Q&A (Francis Currie)
— New Drops (CNN)
Music industry sets new record in 2021: $15B, driven by streaming
In a fulfillment of a RAIN News projection, and in what RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier calls “one of the most incredible comeback stories in modern commercial history,” the U.S. record industry in 2021 surpassed its previous record of annual revenue. The headline number is $15-billion. More than half of that is subscription streaming, and this milestone is a profound validation of that commercial model. Continue Reading
Macmillan to publish children’s book series derived from Pinna podcast
Macmillan, the only Big 5 book publisher with its own podcast networks, will partner with kids podcast company Pinna to publish books based on the Pinna original podcast Quentin & Alfie’s ABC Adventures. This interesting partnership leverages Macmillan’s crossover expertise between books and podcasts. Also interesting inasmuch as the deal represents a rare directional crossover of podcast to book. Continue Reading
Crime and News are top podcasts for women (Triton Digital)
Triton Digital released a demonstration of its new Demo+ service, releasing a brief study of what podcasts are favored by female listeners (18+ in the U.S.). The study is doubly interesting, not just for the results but also for the methodology. Click for details. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Tuesday, March 8
Jottings of Note
— DAnxIety (Digiday)
— Celebration (iHeartRadio)
— Deep Identity (CMO)
Spotify starts latest “Sound Up” training contest, this one for Kids & Family shows
Spotify has announced what is, by our count, the third Sound Up program of podcast creation mentoring. This time the field is Kids & Family shows that will compete. At stake is what the company describes as “an immersive week of in-person training at our Spotify offices in Los Angeles, to be followed by a series of virtual workshops and classes, and finally production of a podcast pilot episode.” Click through for lots of detail. Continue Reading
Gumball raises $10M Series A capital
Podcast ad tech company Gmball announces today the closing of Series A funding of $10-million, led by Union Square Ventures and Good Friends. The investment brings total fundraising for the company to $12-million.
Continue Reading
Amazon launches Amp, a social audio / music show competitor to Clubhouse and Spotify Shows
Amazon has launched Amp, a social audio platform with an interesting focus on building music shows. While early reports compare Amp to Clubhouse, Amazon’s promotional emphasis is on building interactive music shows, something like live, interactive radio. It also takes a stab at Spotify Shows. Continue Reading
YouTube offers grants to podcasters and networks to get on the platform
Popular listening platforms, from streaming music to broadcast radio, have stepped into podcasting by pulling podcasting onto their platforms, mostly through acquisitions. Alphabet/Google/YouTube is taking a somewhat different tack, offering six-figure grants to podcasters and podcast networks to create video versions of their shows. This according to Bloomberg, which cites anonymous sources. Continue Reading
Podchaser releases its latest trending ranker: Podchaser 25
Podcast database and social listening platform has released the second edition of Podchaser 25, a February ranker of podcasts which are exhibiting spikes of popularity. Podcasher calls the list “a first-of-its-kind monthly ranking of the hottest, rising podcasts in the U.S.” Continue Reading