RAIN Notes: Wednesday, July 26
Author: Brad Hill
Spotify Q2 earnings: Podcast investment, AI, Premium pricing, SPAN, and more
Spotify released its Q2 earnings report yesterday. Company executives Daniel Ek (CEO) and Paul Vogal (CFO) answered investor questions. Topics ranged from the recently announced subscription rate for Premium members, to company over-investment in podcasting, the Spotify Podcast Ad Network (SPAN), and the use of artificial intelligence. Click for the rundown with quotes. Continue Reading
Analysis of programmatic podcast ads: Gender split, length, and other attributes
“What do programmatic audio ads sound like? That’s the question posed by audio intelligence company Veritonic and podcast network Acast, resulting in a graphic fact sheet. The study included ads in the Financial, Auto, Adult Beverage, and Insurance verticals. We learn about length, content, and success rate. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Tuesday, July 25
— Adult Oversight (Edison Research)
— Reunion (Grace Carrick)
— Riffs (Hollywood and Levine
Spotify Q2: Expectations exceeded; stock pummeled
Spotify released its Q2 earnings this morning. The company told a story of exceeding expectations. Meanwhile, the stock market savaged SPOT stock price in today’s morning session. The apparent discrepancy lies between topline revenue and operating income. Click for details, linkage to Spotify financial statements, and graphics. Continue Reading
Most podcasters quick to adopt AI. And like it. (Survey)
Seventy-four percent of surveyed podcasters use generative AI. That, according to a podcast study called Creativity In the Age of AI, from media editing company Descript. The study surveyed both podcasters and video creators. Of the two cohorts, podcasters are leaping into AI faster. Click for details and graphs. Continue Reading
Spotify fulfills promise, raises Premium subscription rate
Investors were getting restless. The company promised. Today, the moment is at hand. After 12 years of delivering the Spotify Premium service at the $9.99/month price point, Spotify has announced a raise to $10.99. We examine Spotify’s user-growth trend lines, and make a rough estimate of the financial impact in advance of tomorrow’s earnings call. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Thursday, July 20
iHeartMedia forges partnership with LinkedIn for launching, resourcing, and promoting podcasts
iHeartMedia is breaking news about the audio behemoth’s new partnership with business-oriented social media platform LinkedIn. Broadly, the agreement intends to support creators produce, launch, and scale podcasts. From iHeart’s perspective, the goal is to pair its infrastructure and distribution… Continue Reading
Dateline gains, NPR maintains, stability reigns in Triton Digital U.S. Podcast Ranker
Triton Digital releases its monthly U.S. Podcast Report for June. The interactive list encourages sorting the ranker in multiple ways. No matter how you look at it, the top 10 shows remain grouped. Also, five new podcasts join the prestigious list. Click for details and a link. Continue Reading
YouTube podcast consumption is woven into user habits; many watch after listening (Veritonic)
In a fascinating burst of research from audio intelligence company Veritonic, we learn that podcast listeners use YouTube in a variety of ways, including as the source of second consumption — watching the video of a podcast they have already listened to. Click for an explanatory infographic, and Veritonic’s purpose in supplying this research. Continue Reading
Podcast Industry Glossary opened by Sounds Profitable, inviting public participation
Media and consulting company Sounds Profitable has released the Podcast Industry Glossary. It’s an online product — and, as such, is a living document. Not only can Sounds Profitable keep it updated, but there is an open invitation for community updates. Click through for a brief review and links. Continue Reading