Author: Brad Hill

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Webcast listening holds steady in April as Spotify continues upward trajectory (Triton Digital)

Posted on by Brad Hill

Webcast listening in April was mostly flat compared to the previous month, taking Triton Digital’s top 20 streamers as a whole — this according to Triton’s Webcast Metrics monthly Ranker, released this morning. While Pandora has plateaued, Spotify has experienced a consistent charge of upward listening growth that can fairly be called meteoric. Click through for details and historical trendlines. Continue Reading →

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Panoply leverages Nielsen data management for targeted podcast advertising

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a sign of podcasting’s evolution from cottage industry to a maturing advertising category, Nielsen has announced an agreement with Slate-owned Panoply’s Megaphone hosting platform. The venture hopes to meet advertiser demand for audience targeting of podcast commercials and sponsorship messages. Continue Reading →

Brand advertisers flock to ESPN podcast series

Posted on by Brad Hill

ESPN’s 30 for 30 podcast series (announced in RAIN News in March) launched yesterday, and the company released a sponsor lineup that includes four national brands. The announcement is significant as the podcast economy is at an inflection point, attempting to evolve beyond its reliance on DRM (direct response marketing) advertisers, and draw money from the big marketing budgets of national branding campaigns. Continue Reading →

Pandora turns another corner – Westergren, Herring out. CEO search on. New board member in.

Posted on by Brad Hill

Reported yesterday and confirmed this morning, founder and CEO Tim Westergren has left Pandora. He steps down from the chief executive position, and exits the board of directors. President Mike Herring likewise leaving. The CFO is now interim CEO. A new board member takes a seat, as directors start searching for the next CEO. Continue Reading →

Triton Digital launches Yield-Op, a new supply-side platform optimized for audio

Posted on by Brad Hill

In an initiative to streamline the market for digital audio advertising, Triton Digital is introducing a new platform for audio publishers, called Yield-Op, which the company says is built from the ground up for audio. Optimization, cutomization, and reach are three values Triton is evangelizing with the new software. Continue Reading →

RAIN Podcast Business Summit delivers key metrics, personalities, knowledge, and networking

Posted on by Brad Hill

The RAIN Podcast Business Summit, a breakthrough event that uniquely presented the business side of podcasting and its opportunity to advertisers, was a standout success to hundreds of attendees representing New York ad agencies, podcasting networks, advertiser brands, technology companies, and many others. Continue Reading →

Edison/NPR study discovers that smart speakers are essential audio devices

Posted on by Brad Hill

The Smart Audio Report from NPR and Edison Research, which had its world release at yesterday’s RAIN Podcast Business Summit, revealed that the voice-activated devices (e.g. Amazon Echo/Dot and Google Home) encourage audio listening, music service subscription, and have become extremely valued additions to their owners’ lifestyles in sometimes surprising ways. Continue Reading →

With podcasting poised for new era, RAIN inaugurates the Podcast Business Summit

Posted on by Brad Hill

On the heels of Apple’s announcement that it will launch podcast listening analytics this year, RAIN is producing the inaugural Podcast Business Summit next week, June 21 at the AXA Auditorium in midtown Manhattan. Over 300 registrants from over 140 companies have claimed seats at the groundbreaking event. Tickets are available. Continue Reading →