NPR podcast revenue to surpass radio, as “sea change” shifts listening

If Q2 was the Covid Quarter, NPR was infected. The U.S. public radio network lost about a quarter of its audience during that period. The main influence? Loss of morning and evening car commuting. But this trend is balanced by shifts to in-home device listening, increasing reach overall. Podcast revenue will surpass broadcast ad revenue for the first time. Click through for details. Continue Reading →

Entercom’s “fundamental transformation,” podcasting, film, and company definition

In Entercom’s Q2 earnings call on August 7, CEO David Field held forth with a considerable portion of his opening remarks focused on digital audio and cross-category business in the U.S.’s second-largest commercial radio group. In fact, “radio” is subsumed in Field’s broad definition of Entercom: “Entercom is now a scaled media and entertainment company.” Continue Reading →

Pandora launches two new “Thumbs” playlists, one of them for SiriusXM broadcast

In an example of SiriusXM’s cross-platform strategies, the satellite company will broadcast one of Pandora’s new weekly “Thumb” playlists. Alongside that announcement Pandora is also pushing a top-100 playlist to be refreshed each week. A “Thumb” playlist is informed by Pandora users’ thumb-up actions on individual tracks. The company takes the entire thumb-up database across all listeners during the week, and makes a top-100 list out of it. Using the same method, a top-20 list is also manufactured and is broadcast on the Pandora Now channel on siriusXM. Continue Reading →

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Michael Robertson: Is the Spotify Deal With Joe Rogan Illegal?

by Michael Robertson

This guest contribution by iconic digital audio entrepreneur Michael Robertson digs into the U.S. copyright code and finds a statute which might relate to, and potentially invalidate, Spotify’s exclusive distribution deal with Joe Rogan. Continue Reading →

BBC rebrands its production division and launches a podcast unit

The British public broadcaster has rebranded its production division, formerly BBC Radio & Music Production, which relaunched today as BBC Audio. This is part of a widespread de-platforming of radio and broader reconceptualization as audio. Four people staff the new unit, headed by Clare McGinn, previously Head of Production for BBC Radio 4 in Bristol. McGinn is a career BBC’er. Continue Reading →