RAIN Notes: Thursday, April 8
Jottings of note:
— Power Pressing (Blubrry)
— Refreshed (SpokenLayer)
— Selective Culling (Spotify/Rogan)
Author: Brad Hill
Casted, maker of branded audio and video podcasts, raises $7M Series A funding
Casted, which calls itself an first Amplified Marketing Platform for B2B marketers, has raised seven million dollars in a Series A round led by Revolution Ventures. Other investors include High Alpha Capital, Elevate Ventures, and Tappan Hill Ventures. The company quadrupled revenue in 2020, and one key investor predicts a multi-billion dollar sector. Continue Reading
Audible appoints book adaptation expert as Head of Audible Studios: Zola Mashariki
Newark-based Audible has brought in a Head of Audible Studios from Los Angeles, and it is Zola Mashariki. She comes from stints at Fox Searchlight Pictures, BET, and Good Films, where at each company she held executive content roles. She is a lawyer/executive who has acquired numerous books for crossover production projects. Continue Reading
Pod Drop: Food politics; grim history; financial healing
New podcasts of note.
Politics of Food (DCP Entertainment & Westwood One)
Tulsa’s Buried Truth (ABC Audio)
Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin (iHeartRadio)
Colin Rushing, SoundExchange, honored as Billboard Top Lawyer
Colin Rushing, Chief Legal Officer of SoundExchange and RAIN Summit speaker, is honored in Billboard’s release of its Top Music Lawyers 2021. It is the only award in its category (Performing Rights) that relates directly and exclusively to streaming audio. Continue Reading
TuneIn continues to deploy November investment; markets 20 key job listings
As we reported in November, venerable streaming platform TuneIn received investment from Innovation Endeavors. The dollar amount was undisclosed, but the timing conicided with a CEO change, as Richard Sterm went over over from Audible to take the helm. Today we notice the company has unfruled a raft of 20 job listings across different levels, and is self-referring as “a growth-stage company.” Continue Reading
Audioburst launches “Platform for Apps,” enabling topical audio streaming to app builders
Audio search and delivery platform Audioburst is announcing the launch of Platform for Apps, which provides audio that app builders can easily bolt into the mobile experiences. The company scrapes a colossal library of short clips (“bursts”) which can be sorted by topic and aggregated into playlists. It hopes to grow a clientele of app builders seeking entertainment and user retention. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Monday, April 5
Jottings of note:
— A winner (Evergreen Podcasts)
— Watch for openings (Stitcher)
— Legal hire (Townsquare Media)
— Insider interviews (TechCrunch)
Continue Reading
Within ad-supported audio, podcasting has greater “share of ear” than Spotify/Pandora (Edison)
Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights officer at Westwood One, is back at it in the company blog, divulging results of the subscription Share of Ear consumer survey conducted by Edison Research. One of Bouvard’s key points in this latest blog post is the time-spent leadership of podcasting over ad-supported Spotify Free and Pandora. Click through for that infograph, and more. Continue Reading
5 years ago in RAIN: NYTimes launches audio division
Five years ago today we reported that The New York Times created an audio division. Today the Times produces the most popular podcast in the U.S. (according to Podtrac), owns Serial Productions which launched the podcast resurgence in 2014, and also owns Audm. Click for the April 5, 2016 article. Continue Reading
Evergreen Podcasts partners with IndustryPods, a network of recorded B2B conferences
Evergreen Podcasts is announcing a partnership with IndustryPods, a young network specializing in making podcasts from virtual conference recordings. Through the arrangement, Industry Pods can distribute to a wider audience and cross-promote relevant interest. Continue Reading
Triton Digital adds Indonesian radio/podcast client Masima Radio
Masima Radio, the largest radio network in Indonesia with 18 stations, has selected Triton Digital for the delivery, monetization, and measurement of its streaming audio and podcast content. Continue Reading