RAIN Notes: Tuesday, August 10
Jottings of Note
— Jab History (iHeartMedia)
— Death x3 (Wondery)
— Expansion (Bauer Media)
News
Spotify tests “Plus,” splitting the difference between Free and Premium — potential new service tier
Spotify is testing a new service tier called “Plus,” which, for $0.99 per month, offers a little more interactivity than Spotify Free. If implemented, it would provide a middle-ground service between total lean-back (Spotify Free) and total lean-in (Spotify Premium). Continue Reading
Podtrac Top Podcasts, July: Only four new shows from year-ago
Podtrac released its Top Podcasts monthly ranker for July. There is always a good deal month-over-month repetition in this ranker, as top shows continue their success reaching listeners. This month, we compared the July 2021 list with the July 2020 list to get a year-over-year view of repeat appearances. Continue Reading
Mark Cuban’s Fireside Chat audio platform partners with Libsyn for added distribution
Fireside Chat, a social audio platform launched by co-founders Mark Cuban and Falon Fatemi, which launched in the wake of Clubhouse’s success, announced at Podcast Movement this week a partnership with venerable podcast host Libsyn. The tie-up promises to give Fireside creators a one-touch podcasting solution for distribution in the open podcast ecosystem. The announcement was delivered at a Cuban/Fatemi keynote presentation at Podcast Movement this morning. Continue Reading
Matt Deegan: Radio and Podcast Acquisitions
by Matt Deegan
Guest columnist Matt Deegan (Folder Media) reports on radio and podcast acquisition activity. In this edition, Matt muses on iHeartRadio’s tie-up with TuneIn, which put iHeart’s radio station streams in TuneIn’s streaming audio app. He notes that BBC pulled its streams out of TuneIn, and speculates on how Global fits into iHeart’s larger picture … or vice versa. Continue Reading
BBC Sounds app in Q2: nearly 4M users, 300M+ plays
BBC Sounds, the digital player app produced by and representing the BBC, released a brief Q2 metrics report. The deck is free. Click through for some details and the download link. Continue Reading
Podcast call-ins become digitized and easier with two new products
Featuring listener voices in a podcast adds personality and engagement, but isn’t very common. That might be because setting up a phone number, harvesting messages, recording them, and placing them in a show is an awkward and difficult production task. The problem seems to be entering a solution phase as at least two companies are launching products this week to simplify and digitize the interactivity. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday July 30
Jottings of Note
— Charting a Career Move (Karo Chakhlasyan)
— More Than Opinionated (NY Times)
— Not Called Artists for Nothing (TuneCore)
iHeartMedia and TuneIn enter wide-ranging partnership: iHM stations added, iHeart to rep, Triton to monetize
In a hefty, wide-ranging partnership, iHeartMedia and its Triton Digital subsidiary are going into business with TuneIn. In the agreement iHM’s 850 radio stations will be piled into TuneIn. iHeart will also become TuneIn’s premier local ad sales representation partner. Further, Triton will monetize TuneIn’s local inventory, which promises to help advertisers reach new audiences at scale, according to the press notice.
Continue Reading
Spotify Q2 earnings: Users and revenue up slightly; stock down harshly
Spotify released its Q2 financials and user metrics today. The story for investors seems to be disappointment with missed guidance around user growth. The story for everyone else appears as positive change in all key metrics. Click for graphics and charts. Continue Reading
WideOrbit announces a raft of executive appointments as Bruce Roberts steps down
Digital media campaign buying and management company WideOrbit is remaking its executive ranks, as Bruce Roberts prepares to step down as President and EVP of Sales after 20 years. He will remain in the traditional role of advisor to the company. Seven new executive appointments flow into upper management at the company. Continue Reading
Clubhouse exits beta, opens membership to all, and lists 30 open jobs
Clubhouse, a pioneer in social audio and the most recognized brand in that field, has emerged from a year-long beta period, celebrating the new phase as “Opening Day.” Key to the emergence is the elimination of the invite-only method of bringing in new users. Now, anyone can join. Click through for several usage statistics, and a link to 30 job openings. Continue Reading