RAIN Notes: Wednesday, January 24
Author: Brad Hill
Triton U.S. podcast ranker: NPR returns; stable top 10; only three new
Triton Digital released its U.S. Podcast Ranker for December, ranking the top 100 podcasts measured by Triton’s service. As always, this list connects each of the 100 listed shows with its sales network. As always, Triton’s online presentation of the ranker is highly interactive, allowing you to sort the order by Average Users, representing audience size, downloads, and sales networks, and more. Click for highlights. Continue Reading
Audacy projects ambitious revenue growth in streaming and podcasting, including a paid subscription service
Radio giant Audacy, rocked by bankruptcy debt restructuring, is forging ahead with a five-point business projection. Looking at the company’s business plan filed with the SEC, we see five areas of focus. Click for details, graphs, and a link. Continue Reading
Radio advertising and “mental availability” — Peter Field’s study of marketing effectiveness
Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights Officer at Cumulus Media / Westwood One, is distributing recent analytical work by London-based author and marketing expert Peter Field. It’s a metrics-jammed 25-page presentation. Among the many metrics and charts, we find “mental availability” a compelling and interesting value. Continue Reading
“Fair training” becomes a thing to protect copyrighted audio in AI training
A unique type of content ownership certification is in the works from a non-profit group called Fairly Trained. As the name implies, the focus is on media content — including music — used to train artificial intelligence services. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday, January 19
European Parliament wants revision of streaming royalty calculations to favor “less popular” music
The European Parliament, a 705-member body which works with the European Union to consider and create legislation, has issued a statement regarding artist payment by streaming music platforms. This week the EP called for new EU rules regulating a “fair and sustainable” streaming sector, and cultural diversity. In short, the European Parliament wants streaming royalty calculations to be revised to favor “less popular” music. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Thursday, January 18
— Trimming (Google / YouTube)
— Unparalleled (Sonnant / Salem)
— Upward (iHeart / BIN)
RAIN Notes: Wednesday, January 17
— Good or Bad? (Oxford Road)
— Sorting Down Under (Triton Digital)
— Challenging Landscape (Amazon Audible)
“Definitive Guide” to Spotify’s updated royalty system pits labels vs. artists
Jeff Price, indefatigable advocate for independent musical artists, has produced an information/fact sheet which explains how Spotify royalty calculations and payments work. This effort comes after the streaming company made significant changes to its payment allocations. Carrying the weighty title “The Definitive Guide to Spotify’s Changes In Sound Recording Royalty Calculations — And Its Impact on Artists,” the 26-page PDF (available HERE) is part explainer, part statistical sheet, and part accuser. It’s deep, complex, illuminating, and freely available. Continue Reading
110M downloads “outperforming the market” — Audioboom’s Q4
London-based global podcast company Audioboom released a raft of Q4 metrics, as a 2023 trading update. Not a formal earnings report, the release offers financial statistics, commercial developments, and comments from CEO Stuart Last. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday, January 12