In one of the most eventful days in company history, Pandora released its Q1 earnings, disclosed the first subscription numbers for Pandora Premium, announced a new $150-million investment, altered its board rules making it easier to change directors, and accepted the resignation of its board Chairman and another board member. Continue Reading
This year, 36% of Americans will use a voice-assisted smart device at least once a month — a 129% jump from last year, according to eMarketer. Over 70% of that usage is through Amazon Alexa, the operating system which lives in the Echo, Dot, and Look devices. Continue Reading
Jovem Pan, the largest radio network in Brazil with 142 stations, has allied with Audio.ad, the audio advertising company serving Hispanic market in the Americas, to put its digital audio inventory in Audio.Ad’s automated platform. The partnership gives Jovem Pan advertisers access to Tail.digital, an audience data and segmenting platform. Continue Reading
Webcast listening in February spiked upward by eight percent compared to the previous month, according to Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics monthly Top 20 Ranker, released today. Year-over-year listening to streams gained 12%. Click through for long-term trendlines. Continue Reading
Ad-tech company AdsWizz is now in the Alexa development business, partnering with iHeartMedia on the publishing side, and ad agencies Assembly, Mediavest|Spark, and Mindshare. Alexa is the voice-controlled home assistant platform developed by Amazon and embodied in the Echo, Dot, and Look devices. Skills involve interactive listening and voice-activated responses to advertisements. Continue Reading
Registration for the June 21 RAIN Podcast Business Summit opens today, as tickets for the milestone conference go on sale at the Early Pricing level for a limited time. Between now and May 16 attendees may register to be part of the event at New York’s AXA Event & Production Center for $299. Continue Reading
Varick Media sent an announcement today that it has expanded its relationship with Triton Digital, using Triton’s a2x programmatic marketplace in Canada. Continue Reading
Global streaming revenue was up 60% in 2016, according to the International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI) annual report. Streaming revenue nudged the industry upward as a whole. Within that good news, a centerpiece of the report is an analysis of the “value gap,” emblemized by YouTube. Continue Reading
The Webby Award season concluded last week. Here are the winners in the “Podcasts & Digital Audio” group, across 15 categories. Though some are well-known, and most are from leading networks, the winners (official and People’s Voice) make a good discovery list. Continue Reading
Guest columnist Mark Ramsey weighs in on a hot debate in podcasting: How long is the best podcast length? Continue Reading
SoundExchange, which collects and distributes label royalties from streaming music, released its Q1 2017 report this morning, citing growth statistics compared to Q1 2016. It’s a growth story of participating musicians, even as Pandora — the largest single contributor to label royalties from webcasting — reduced its involvement in this particular payment system. Continue Reading
RAIN News received a note from Roger King, Producer and Director of I Am What I Play, a documentary about radio DJs. The film was completed in July, 2014, has been playing in the documentary circuit, and is available to stream or download on Vimeo starting today. Continue Reading