The New York Times Company has acquired Audm, a startup that creates audio versions of long-form journalism for subscription access. Founders Ryan Wegner, the director of spoken word audio production, and Christian Brink, director of product, will join the Times Company along with the rest of the Audm team. Continue Reading
Montreal-based media and technology company Stingray is entering the Canadian podcast market with a 30% acquisition of The Podcast Exchange (TPX), Canada’s leading podcast ad sales and production house. The announcements hints that Stingray might develop a portfolio of wholly owned-and-operated podcasts. Continue Reading
Pex, an analytics and digital rights management company, has acquired Dubset Media Holdings. Dubset offers tools for DJs and other creators to identify the audio used in mixes and remixes, and to secure the rights for their use. Continue Reading
We knew that the New York Times was interested in buying Serial Productions, the podcast house which makes Serial, the most successful true crime podcast franchise of the last six years. We reported such in January. Now we learn from the Times itself that it is exclusively discussing the acquisition with Serial, according to Ben Smith, the new Media Columnist. There might be a discount. Continue Reading
Spotify has leveraged acquisitions to build up its podcasting empire over the past several months. Some additional details have emerged about the company’s big deal from last week, its purchase of sports-centric media operation The Ringer. Continue Reading
Spotify had more than earnings results to share today. The company is continuing its march through podcasting with the acquisition of The Ringer, the sports-centric digital media business founded by Bill Simmons. Continue Reading
Sony Music has forged a content development partnership with Somethin’ Else, an indie British podcast production company. The press release lists Sony’s contributions to be content expertise, marketing, and monetization. We don’t know whether Sony has taken an ownership stake in Somethin’ Else. We do know Sony is moving fast in podcasting. Continue Reading
A story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reported that Serial Productions, maker of influential podcast Serial, is seeking acquisition. While a great deal of institutional money has flowed into podcasting in the last three years, an acquisition headline focused on a single show is unusual and striking. Continue Reading
Yesterday we reported rumors that Spotify might acquire sports/pop podcast network The Ringer, founded by ex-ESPN Bill Simmons. Today a second swirl of rumors speculates that Simmons is asking $200-million for the deal. We scratch out some rough arithmetic. Continue Reading
Valence Media, the parent company for Billboard, has acquired Nielsen Music. This means the chart company and the source of its data will be united under one roof. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Continue Reading
Sonos released its fourth-quarter financial results, closing out its first fiscal year as a publicly traded company. Revenue rose 8% on-year to $294 million. In addition to the financial results, Sonos has also announced an acquisition of a startup called Snips. Continue Reading
Spotify has acquired SoundBetter. The company provides a marketplace for music and audio professionals to connect and work together. It includes production roles for singers, songwriters, producers, mixers, mastering engineers, and session musicians. Continue Reading