Google has withdrawn a key podcast listening product, signaling a trim of its podcast initiative. At the same time, Google appears to be rallying a counter initiative to the high-buzz ascendance of AI tool ChatGPT (owned by OpenAi). Recent Backstepping… Continue Reading
It has been in circulation since 2021, when the American Music Fairness Act was introduced to Congress.The proposed bill intends to rectify what musicians and their chief lobbying organization, SoundExchange, call a “decades-long injustice.” The argument is over a historical anamoly which has always exempted broadcast radio stations from paying creator royalties — songwriters for the most part. Continue Reading
Spotify was ready for investor questions about the recent reorg. The company’s remarks emphasized a shift from previous spending to future operational efficiency. This core message was connected to every aspect of the product, with some emphasis on podcasting (thanks to relentless investor questioning about the podcast business) and especially the recent departure of Dawn Ostroff, who ran the podcast business. Click for quotes. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— Boiling Down the Artwork (True Native)
— 185 Nominees (Podcast Academy)
— A Healthy Sign (JAR Audio)
“So, by the end of the year, we had more than 100 million tracks on our platform and more than 5 million podcasts and more than 300,000 audio books being enjoyed by almost 0.5 billion listeners.” –Daniel Ek, CEO, Spotify… Continue Reading
SoundStack, the self-defined “audio-as-a-service” podcast tech company, blasted into February by announcing a triple executive raid. Three new executives join SoundStack’s marketing, finance, and product groups. Click for deets and pics. Continue Reading
Podcast host Libsyn is announcing a data integration partnership with YouTube. The result is that data about podcast consumption on YouTube will flow into the Libsyn-owned AdvertiseCast advertising marketplace. More announcements to come, Libsyn says. Continue Reading
In an exceptionally interesting report from global podcast behemoth Acast — “The Rise of Programmatic Podcast Ad Buying” — we learn about a generally bullish attitude among podcast marketers toward podcast programmatic. And there is an interesting detail about how the respondents were screened. Continue Reading
Los Angeles Public Radio, KPCC, will be rebranded in the coming weeks as LAist, adopting the group name for an existing podcast production network, as well as existing news and social media enterprises. Continue Reading
The experience of a business meeting with ChatGPT ranges from bland to baffled silence. The headlined AI platform doesn’t seem to recognize programmatic advertising at all, and provided a weirdly uninformative list of popular podcasts. Other queries returned sensible, concise replies. Continue Reading
Edison Research, the preeminent consumer survey organization for measuring audio consumption, is announcing two upcoming podcast studies that explore young (Gen Z) and senior (Boomer) listeners. Edison calls them “two major podcast thought leadership studies,” and says they will be released in Q1. Continue Reading
Jay Green’s 10-year career on the business side of podcasting has taken a new turn, as the veteran executive joins sales and marketing firm Soundrise as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Operations. He offers thoughts to RAIN News. Continue Reading