Metrics & Research

Streaming now 85% of U.S. recorded music revenue: RIAA

Posted on by Brad Hill

Streaming has grown from 80% to 85% of all recorded music revenue in the U.S., according to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) in its mid-year 2020 report. In dollars, the 85% of revenue for the six month period totals $4.8-billion. Other revenue categories have been withering on the vine for years, and now are nearing flatline. Physical sales were just 7% or revenue, and digital downloads were 6%. Click through for other details and a link to the downloadable report. Continue Reading →

There’s weekly listening and “heavy” listening: Westwood One Podcast Download, fall 2020 report

Posted on by Brad Hill

One key takeaway from the drop of Westwood One’s annual Podcast Download report, released last Friday, is that “heavy” podcast listeners (6+ hours per week) are increasing. There is much more to this sprawling 65-page study, which covers podcasting’s rebound from the Covid disruption, listening apps, age breakdowns, and behavior of “newcomers” and “pioneers.” Click through for charts, key points, and the download link. Continue Reading →

AdLarge’s cabana joins Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics

Posted on by Brad Hill

A joint release from the two companies announces that cabana, the digital audio (mainly podcasts) division of AdLarge, is joining Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics measurement service. Triton releases every-four-weeks (not calendar monthly) IAB-certified reports of top podcasts and podcast networks. Cabana will be measured for the next report, representing August 3 through August 30.  Continue Reading →

Podcast advertising up 44% from January to June (AdsWizz, IAB Upfront)

Posted on by Brad Hill

Ad tech company AdsWizz presented a raft of data at the IAB Podcast Upfront this week. One key point which caught our attention was the growth in advertising from  January to June — up 44% in that period. Whatever disruptions Covid imposed on the industry, the overall growth trend over six months is startling.  Click through for charts. Continue Reading →

New from Podtrac: Podcasting rebounds, and Apple grows distribution lead … sort of

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a blast of information preceding its appearance Friday at the IAB Podcast Upfront 2020, Podtrac/Authentic sent us a ream of data and new show deals. CEO Mark McCrery is scheduled to speak at the IAB Podcast Upfront on Friday. Podtrac data indicate that podcast lilsteneing has rebounded from Covid, and that Spotify is chasing Apple hard in audience reach for podcasting. Apple still easily wins in number of downloads. Click through for much more details. Continue Reading →

Podtrac weekly update: Listening +52% in a year — News, Business, True Crime big gainers

Posted on by Brad Hill

Podtrac released a Weekly Podcast Data report, showing year-over-year and week-over-week charts of weekly download data. The reporting period is August 31 to September 6. The week-over-week download report for all podcast categories is minus 4%. But looking at a year-over-year view, from 9/2/2019 to 9/6/2020, shows a 52% rise in downloads. Click through for charts and more details. Continue Reading →

NPR top publisher, “The Daily” top podcast in Podtrac August rankers

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a new release schedule, Podtrac is distributing the Top Podcasts and Top Podcast Publishers rankers simultaneously today. In the Top Podcasts list, we see a general month-over-month stability. Among top podcast publishers, NPR and iHeartRadio continued their 1/2 dance with NPR taking the #1 slot this month by a sliver. Tap through for complete details. Continue Reading →

Podcasting spot load is 5% as brand advertising grows and revenue steadies (Magellan / Westwood One)

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a data-rich blog post informed by Magellan AI research, Westwood One has published a raft of research findings about podcast advertising. The headline is that podcast advertising is “pandemic proof,” based on the field’s resiliency from pandemic disruption. The study examines month-over-month and quarterly trendlines to track the stability of podcast advertising, a consistently low spot load (to use a radio term), and the continued emergence of brand advertising. Click through for numbers and graphics. Continue Reading →

Edison Research COVID listening webinar set for Thursday

Posted on by Brad Hill

Edison Research is set to deliver a short webinar as part of a lunchtime series, this one titled Listening Habits During Quarantine: A Share of Ear® Report. “Share of Ear” is an ongoing subscription survey project which measures time spent in all kinds of audio among Americans. Edison SVP Tom Webster will present the brisk, 15-minute report. Click through for the registration link. Continue Reading →

Triton Digital U.S. Podcast Report shows nearly unchanging network leadership

Posted on by Brad Hill

Triton Digital has released its U.S. Podcast Report, an every-four-week rolling weekly average of downloads and listeners. This report covers the July 6 through August 2 period. Most remarkable is the stability of this report compared to the previous one. And we noticed the same thing in our previous coverage. Click through for details. Continue Reading →

June webcast streaming was mixed; several upward trends within overall flatness

Posted on by Brad Hill

Stream listening in June was a mixed story: A lift of only one percent month-over-month for the entire cohort, but 12 brands experienced month-over-month gain of 5% or more. Steady leader Pandora, whose stream volume sways the entire report, was almost exactly flat from May to June. The second-ranked entity, iHeartRadio, enjoyed an upward spike of five percent. The percentage leader in June was AccuRadio, up 11%. Continue Reading →