Edison’s Top 50 U.S. Podcasts 2021: All podcasts eligible; Joe Rogan is #1; and now you can sort it

Edison Research has released its always-interesting Top Podcasts list, this one for all of 2021. (See the bottom of this post.) The Joe Rogan Experience is atop the list, followed by The Daily at #2. Edison’s reckoning of top podcasts is importantly different from Podtrac, Triton Digital, and other machine-based measurements, because no podcast is excluded. Click through for the list, and a link to a nifty interactive version of it. Continue Reading

Canadians, Americans, (and YouTube users) have differing reactions to the Rogan-Spotify controversy

Leaping into the moment, Canadian research firm Signal Hill Insights has produced a survey study of consumer reaction to the controversy swirling around Spotify’s distribution ownership of The Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan’s wide-ranging interview show is possibly the most successful podcast in the world. Signal Hill dashed into the field for survey work on February 2 and 3. One fulcrum of opinion lies on the American-Canadian border. Click for findings. Continue Reading

“You’re Wrong About” wins iHeartRadio Podcast of the Year

In the beautifully produced (virtual only) iHeartRadio Podcast Awards, You’re Wrong About won the Podcast of the Year prize. It is produced by journalist Sarah Marshall, who partners with guests to reconsider a person or event that’s been miscast in the public imagination. Click for competing nominees with their publishers and number of episodes. Also a link to catch-up watch. Continue Reading

SiriusXM intros AudioID via AdsWizz subsidiary; promises “a new era of identity”

SiriusXM unleashed a press release today — dense and carefully worded — introducing a new SXM Media technology called AudioID on the AdsWizz audio ad tech platform owned by Sirius. The public announcement (read it HERE) promises a new kind of data and personal ID relationship between listeners and marketers, without exactly describing what the changes will be. We dive in. Continue Reading

Spotify speaks and Rogan apologizes in damage control before Q4 earnings

Spotigate? Roganomics? Today we learn that Spotify and its headline podcaster Joe Rogan are maneuvering to get in front of apparent accelerating damage resulting from a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience which created public outcry over statements about Covid vaccines. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek clarified and disclosed; Rogan apologized and promised. Click for more. Continue Reading