Brad Hill - RAIN News

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Weekly podcast listeners overwhelmingly prefer YouTube, and other new stats (Cumulus Media / Signal Hill Insights)

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Brad Hill

For the eleventh edition of the Podcast Download series, Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights retained MARU/Matchbox to conduct an in-depth study of 608 weekly podcast consumers from October 13-19, 2023. This work, combined with Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics study, comprise this annual fall report. YouTube is the star. Click for metrics, graphs, and a download link. Continue Reading →

Vox Media Podcast Network to produce live podcasts on branded stage at SXSW

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Brad Hill

Vox Media and SXSW (owner of the South By Southwest annual business and networking conference) are partnering to produce a dozen or more live-staged podcasts at the 2024 conference in March. Vox currently claims 39 owned and operated podcasts, and ten of them are confirmed to produce an episode on the SXSW stage.
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RAIN Notes: Tuesday, December 5

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Brad Hill

— Warning (Colin Rushing)

— Realignment (iHeartMedia)

— Change At The Top (Cumulus Media)

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Podtrac releases top new podcasts for 2023; no matches with top October podcasts

Posted on December 4, 2023 by Brad Hill

Podtrac has released its annual Top 25 New Podcasts. We compare the 2023 edition with Podtrac’s Top 20 Podcasts for October. One of the values in the New Podcasts list is discovery. These are shows that have succeeded in building and retaining audience, but are largely unknown in the broad market. Continue Reading →

Spotify latest layoff sweep: 1,500 employees, 17% of staff, public memo

Posted on December 4, 2023 by Brad Hill

In an internal memo also posted publicly, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced the company’s third layoff sweep of 2023. Seventeen percent of the company — about 1,500 employees — will receive severance packages. Click through for detailed coverage, quotes, severence package details, and SPOT stock activity. Continue Reading →

Collin Campbell leaves Gimlet for high-exec podcast role at NPR

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Brad Hill

NPR has a new head of podcast strategy; it is Collin Campbell, who takes the title Senior Vice President of Podcast Strategy and Franchise Development starting sometime this month. He carries a long history of executive positions in news content and audio. Continue Reading →

RAIN Notes: Friday, December 1

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Brad Hill

— Transition (RAB)

— Turned Off (Spotify)

— Enough Is Enough (The Podcasting Playbook)

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Spotify Wrapped 2023 launches, aspiring to an “unforgettable experience”

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Brad Hill

We have noted over several years that Spotify Wrapped has become a cultural touchpoint. Wrapped is both an individualized personal account of listening patterns for millions of users, and a global summary of trends and “top of” lists. It launched today. Click for details and two of its many lists.
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RAIN Notes: Thursday, November 30

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Brad Hill

— Backing Away (Spotify)

— It’s A Wrap (Edison Research)

— Discoveries (The New Yorker)

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Apple reveals 2023 top podcasts, new podcasts, podcast episodes, most followed, most shared … and more mosts.

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Brad Hill

Apple showed off its podcasting influence with the 2023 edition of its podcast tabulations. Called “Apple shares the most popular podcasts of 2023,” the release explores many variations of popularity. Starting off, we learn that Crime Junkie was the top podcast… Continue Reading →

Three brands dominate podcast ad spend; $48M in top-15 (Magellan AI, October)

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Brad Hill

In Magellan AI’s reckoning of the top podcast advertisers (by spend) in October, we see a lot of repetition from the previous months. Nine of the top 15 in the previous month of September landed on the October list again. BetterHelp was the top advertiser, continuing a long streak of supremacy. Click for more analysis and graphs. Continue Reading →

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iHeartMedia will get $100-million in BMI sale. So will creators. Not everyone is thrilled.

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Brad Hill

The acquisition of performance rights organization BMI by New Mountain Capital, which transpired late last week, will put approximately $100-million of cash into iHeart’s balance sheet. Along with that, BMI announced that $100-million of post-sale proceeds will be distributed to music creators. There is some controversy. Continue Reading →