Les Hollander has been named CEO, North America at DAX, the digital audio ad exchange, according to a release from parent company Global. That announcement is wrapped in a company realignment which sees DAX US and DAX Canada brought together into a single operation. Continue Reading
Spotify CEO and Chairman Daniel Ek has received a letter from the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Congress. The letter questions the working and purpose of Spotify’s relatively new “Discovery Mode,” a promotional tool offered to recording artists and record labels which influences which songs get onto listener playlists in exchange for lower royalty rates when those placements are streamed — a potential payola issue. Click for an explanation of Discovery Mode and the complete letter. Continue Reading
In a UK-based consumer survey report based partly on podcasts and partly on digital audio generally, results indicate that marketing in both realms is beneficial to advertisers, and in many respects is superior to TV advertising. The research was conducted by MAGNA and funded by Spotify. Click through for details and the download link. Continue Reading
Podtrac released its two highly visible ranking for the month of May: Top Podcast Publishers, and Top Podcasts. Comparing both lists to their April counterparts, we see one change in the Publishers list, and two changes in the Podcasts list. Click through to see everything. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— The How (The Drum)
— Good Ones (Welp Magazine)
— It’s Not the Size that Counts (AdWeek)
Casted, a content marketing platform for podcasters, has announced a feature expansion of its platform that includes enhanced searching, transcribing, indexing, video creation, and like/share insight. Click for details. Continue Reading
Spotify has long encouraged musical self-reflection in its subscribers with an end-of-year feature called Spotify Wrapped. Now comes Only You, a similar round-up of individual preferences and new playlists based on those preferences. It will be a continuing new product bundled into the Home panel. Continue Reading
Bubble Trouble is a new podcast hosted by former Spotify Chief Economist Will Page and Arete Research founder Richard Kramer, which promises to describe inconvenient truths about financial markets. The show is a sort of coming-out for Magnificent Noise, a network helmoed by ex-SVP of Audible Eric Nuzum. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— Nominated (British Podcast Awards)
— Closing a Gap (Ossa)
— Podcast Marketing, Mais Oui! (Ausha)
In what appears to be a report timed to the end of Q1, YouTube paid $4-billion in music royalties in 12 months. More than 30% of that payout to the music industry came from monetization of user-uploaded music. Continue Reading
June is Black History Month, siriusXM is marshalling its sprawling inventory of audio platforms in a combined celebration and promotion. The company, along with its Pandora and Stitcher subsidiaries, announced the launch of three exclusive limited-engagement channels, a groundbreaking original podcast, and specialty music programming. Continue Reading
Veritonic’s Audio Logo Index 2021 ranks branded sound bites with a combination of AI and a large cross-continental human panel. Click through for audio samples and top-level ranking results. Continue Reading