Podtrac has posted its May ranking of podcast publishers. Across all of the top ten publishers, the average U.S. unique monthly audience was 8.6 million. The figure was down just 2% from April and up 41% on-year from May 2018. Continue Reading
Nielsen Music released its mid-year report, another assessment of streaming driving consumption. Both audio and video streams on-demand continued to grow, while physical sales and digital downloads posted another period of decline. Continue Reading
Fifty-three million American adults own smart speakers. Because some people and households own multiple speakers, that adds up to 118.5-million devices — a 78% increase in overall device ownership year-over-year. This, and much other data, come from the NPR/Edison Research Smart Audio Report, released in a webinar today. Continue Reading
Soundcharts released an examination of China’s music industry, highlighting some of the rapid growth happening in this market. Wholesale revenue in China has tripled in three years with a compound annual growth rate of 44.2%. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio commissioned a study from Ipsos Research exploring the reach and popularity of different audio formats. The results backed other studies on the continued dominance of radio, and noted that younger listeners are driving much of the growth in audio. Continue Reading
MIDiA Research teamed with subscription listening service Idagio for an examination of classical music and streaming. Global retail revenue for classical recorded music was $384 million in 2018. Streaming revenue for the genre rose 46% to $141 million that year. Continue Reading
In the Magellan monthly podcast advertiser report released today, we learn that Leesa Mattress and Harry’s Razors are two new advertiser’s in the top 15 podcast advertisers for May. Each started marketing via podcasts in 2017, with dramatic increases in recent months. Continue Reading
Loup Ventures has published its latest update to its forecast of smart speaker sales. The revised predictions anticipate that 2019 will see 72 million unit sales, up from 52 million sales in 2018. The company is adding Chinese manufacturers to its global model, reflecting the growing presence those brands are having on international sales. Continue Reading
Adobe Digital Insights conducted a survey about voice services. The participants shared details on how and when they used voice technology. About three-quarters (73%) of smart speaker owners use the devices daily. Music, weather, and silly questions were the most frequent use cases for the AI assistants. Continue Reading
Podtrac issued its May list of the top 20 podcasts. Weekday news programs continue to perform well in the Podtrac ranking. Continue Reading
The UK’s BPI teamed with MusicAlly for a new report on music and podcasts. Their report recapped some existing research on podcast listening from sources such as The Infinite Dial, RAJAR, and the IAB, but it also offered some original research into how the audio format can be a tool for the music industry. The two organizations conducted an online survey of labels, artist managers, music publishers, distributors, and label services for their stances on the potential of podcasts. Continue Reading
More than 75 million DAB and DAB+ receivers were sold in Europe and Asia Pacific by the end of the fourth quarter of 2018. That’s the latest report from WorldDAB, which saw the receiver sales grow from 65 million in Q4 2017. Continue Reading