RAIN Notes: Friday, February 3
Jottings of Note
— Boiling Down the Artwork (True Native)
— 185 Nominees (Podcast Academy)
— A Healthy Sign (JAR Audio)
Author: Brad Hill
Spotify Q4: 489M users, 205M subs, 100M tracks, 5M podcasts, 300k audiobooks. (Oh, and financials)
“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 grabs execs from Veritonic, AdsWizz, and Libsyn
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
Libsyn’s links with YouTube to flow data into the AdvertiseCast marketplace
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
Marketers bullish on podcast programmatic … but most selected marketers don’t know what programmatic is
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
KPCC will rebrand as LAist, signalling comprehensive embrace of digital
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
We asked ChatGPT to answer questions about the audio business. It gets an F for programmatic.
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 bookends the demographic range with new studies of Gen-Z and Boomers
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 joins Soundrise: “A more pivotal time than ever.”
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
“Voice tech is everywhere” and other findings from Edison/NPR Smart Audio Report
Edison Research and NPR have released the 2022 Smart Audio Report, an annual survey study measuring the growth, impact, and user behaviors of conversational AI audio. This field is generally summarized as “smart speakers,” but the Edison/NPR work includes digital assistants built into phones, TVs, tablets, cars, and appliances. Continue Reading
Global podcast listening recovers from Covid pause: Reuters Digital News Report
In its wide-ranging and detailed survey of news consumption around the world, Reuters discovered that podcast usage is growing again in 2022 after what it describes as a “COVID-19 pause.” In its conclusion to the general metrics section, Reuters makes a sober assessment about global news consumption across all media categories. Click for details and graphics. Continue Reading
Daniel Ek: A quotation narrative of Spotify’s big vision
In a recent investor gathering, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek keynoted his company’s presentation with a manifesto which promoted Spotify’s accomplishments — in the product and the financials — and broadly charted a big-thinking future. Click through for a highlight reel (so to speak) of his most meaningful and revealing quotes. Continue Reading