RAIN Notes: Wednesday, April 10
— P1 Preferences (Jacobs Media)
— Myths (Veritonic)
— Untied (Independent Podcast Awards)
Author: Brad Hill
Podcasts on Substack? $100M worth, and Substack is promoting the features
“Podcasts and video shows are surging on the platform,” Substack asserts in a promotional post which seeks to reset the common perception of the platform as a distributor of written articles. There is a business rationale behind the pitch, which positions Substack as an added revenue source — subscriptions — to podcasting’s traditional advertising model. Continue Reading
Flight Studio, AI-intensive podcast media company, launched by serial entrepreneur from hit podcast
At the center of this story is Steve Bartlett, the British entrepreneur, investor, and media creator. Since 2014 Bartlett has founded, managed, and invested across fields of social media, health sciences, web software development, and space exploration. In December, 2020 Bartlett started The Diary Of A CEO, an audio/video podcast that claimed 35-million downloads per month. Today Bartlett announces Flight Studio, a global podcast media and tech company. Click for much more detail and quotes. Continue Reading
Spotify extends AI playlisting with, well, “AI Playlist”
Whether or not because of recent staff layoffs, Spotify is leaning less on human-powered playlist creation, and more on AI. The latest innovation is “AI Playlist,” a playlist creative algorithm which takes descriptive prompts from the listener to build unique and personalized playlists. UK and Australia only for now. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Wednesday, April 10
— Imperiled? (Variety / Ari Herstand))
— Meeting Up (Toronto Podcast Meetup)
— Better Is Good (Prohaska Consulting)
Podtrac Podcast Industry Ranking (with RAIN Remix): Two new participants grow list to 22
Podtrac’s monthly Industry Ranking now lists 22 podcast publishers, ranking them by audience size. (Eligible podcast publishers are Podtrac clients.) The ranking also includes streams/downloads, which can also be characterized as plays. We present Podtrac’s original ranker graphic and the RAIN Remix, which ranks Podtrac data on a per-show basis. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Tuesday, April 9
— Imperiled? (Jacobs Media)
— GeoPermission (FCC)
— The Winner Will Be (Quill Podcast Awards)
Acast leads top podcast publishers / networks globally; YouTube poorly represented
In today’s release of Podtrac’s monthly Top Publishers & Networks ranker, we observe that Acast owns the #1 ranking among the seven included networks. Only Podtrac clients are included. Interestingly, very few of the nearly 500 shows in the included chart have YouTube versions. Click for details, a graph, and a very interesting twist. Continue Reading
Audioboom expands sales staff with two hires in a “strategic move”
Global podcast network Audioboom is bolstering its US and UK sales effort with two hires: Molly Harvey leaves her position as Senior Account Executive at SiriusXM to become Vice President, Brand Sales, and Shaun Wilson departs Spotify to become Vice President of Podcast Sales. Click for their backgrounds. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday, April 5
Podcast listeners are receptive to ads, and likely to act on them: Sounds Profitable study
Sounds Profitable has released The Ad Bargain: Attracting Consumer Attention in a Sea of Ads, in collaboration with Signal Hill Insights. The stated purpose is to compare podcast advertising with YouTube and cable TV marketing, with the criteria being consumer receptivity, attention, and effectiveness. It is a deep study with opulent levels of detailed results. Click for samples and a link to the real thing. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Closures and bereavements
by James Cridland
In his latest guest column, James Cridland grieves the death of Paul Chantler and offers reminiscences. Then, how Bauer Media is closing radio stations, buildings, and transmission platforms. Then, a peek at one of Bauer’s studio renovations. James also continues his public commentary on the BBC decision to carry ads. And much more in a packed newsletter. Continue Reading