News

RAIN Notes: Tuesday Feb. 9

Posted on by Brad Hill

Jottings of note:


NASA podcasts relaunch … their logos

“Surprise! NASA’s podcast portfolio has a brand new look,” says Kate Atkinson, NASA’s podcast producer. We don’t see podcast art celebrations often. This one is well deserved.


Apple seeks head of international podcasts

Apple is engaged in a major recruiting effort for Head of International, Apple Podcasts. The company is seeking “Significant and relevant international management experience in the Podcast industry.”


Big growth of spanish and Portguese podcasts: Spotify

On Spotify, the number of podcasts in Spanish and Portuguese has grown more than 400%. That from Raúl Rivera, Spotify Sales Director for South America.

— Tuesday, February 9 Continue Reading →

RAIN Notes: Monday Feb. 8

Posted on by Brad Hill

Jottings of note:

Financial literacy podcast Earn Your Leisure joins the Black Effect Podcast Network
The podcast, which has amassed more than five million downloads, applies an in-depth lens on the role money plays in sports, entertainment, and business.

Deezer recognized Black History Month with specialized content
The global streaming platform launched Deezer Black History Month Sessions featuring all original music recordings. Also, highlighting 26 original podcasts featuring black hosts and/or guests.

Podcaster Pence
Hardly a President, VP, or First Spouse who isn’t getting into the game. Today we hear the recently unemployed Mike Pence will launch a video podcast to “share the good news of conservatism.” He will collaborate with the Young America’s Foundation. 

— Monday, February 8 Continue Reading →

Nielsen signs three agencies to its Podcast Buying Power Service

Posted on by Brad Hill

Nielsen has sent around a notice of “a trio of agencies” that have subscribed to the Nielsen Podcast Buying Power Service. They are Active International, Ad Results Media, and Oxford Road. Nielsen’s service offers insights spanning 18 genres that can be cross-referenced against a massive category of consumer purchase behavior patterns and services usage. The extensive Scarborough category database is leveraged in the service. Continue Reading →

84M people listen to 2.2M podcasts on Spotify. More investments to come. Spotify targets radio.

Posted on by Brad Hill

Much, but not all, of the conversation in Spotify’s earnings call yesterday was about podcasting and the company’s investments. “We are very much still in the investment phase of Spotify,” Ek stated. He also explicitly targeted radio in the tradition of Pandora earning calls of the past: “The primary opportunity, as we think about the long-term is in the linear radio experience by moving online and into on-demand. That is the eye on the prize, the one that we are chasing.” Continue Reading →

RAIN Notes: Thursday Feb. 4

Posted on by Brad Hill

Jottings of note:

AIMP webinar today
Today at 5:30 ET: A webinar from AIMP — “TikTok to Record Deal: The Transition From Viral Fame to Recording Artist.” Register HERE.

Amazon podcasts >> Canada
Amazon launches podcasts to Canadian users of Amazon Music. Amazon launched podcasts in the UlSl in September. Read the RAIN review HERE.

Bill Clinton, podcaster
Bill Clinton is started a podcast for iHeartRadio called Why Am I Telling You This? With Bill Clinton.  The ex-President will chat with celebrities from many fields. The first guest is Wynton Marsalis. LISTEN HERE.

— Wednesday, February 4 Continue Reading →

Spotify earnings: User growth, revenue growth, negative net income, unhappy investors

Posted on by Brad Hill

Under the theme “Building the World’s #1 Audio Network,” Spotify released its Q4 2020 results today. The main public-facing presentation is a splashy infographic illustrating user growth and recent acquisitions and features, with not a single financial metric in view. Click through for a thorough rundown of main finance results and user metrics. Continue Reading →

SiriusXM earnings: A Pandora write-down + praise; Stitcher and the podcast biz. And the numbers.

Posted on by Brad Hill

SiriusXM, whose native and acquired assets address 150-million listeners, one of the largest audiences in American audio, reported Q4 earnings. Here, we recap the major financial points, then dive into key remarks pertaining to subsidiaries Pandora, Stitcher, and podcasting generally. Click through for illuminating quotes from the investor call. Continue Reading →

The Podscape is revised, now includes overlays indicating acquisitions

Posted on by Brad Hill

The Podscape, a graphic representation of the podcast business landscape created by Magellan AI and Sounds Profitable, has been revised. Of special note in this new edition are colored overlays indicating companies which own podcast entities, often through acquisitions of the past three years. Click through to see the infographic, get the download link and the email address for submitting comments to the creators. Continue Reading →

Podsights measures CPMs, conversion rates, and brand lift in latest Benchmark Report

Posted on by Brad Hill

Podsights released an update to its Podsights Benchmark Report series, this one analyzing data collected in Q1 through Q4 of 2020. During that span the report collected 2.5-billion impressions across 1,274 campaigns bought by 421 brands at a total cost of $65-million. Click through for details, graphs, and a link to freely download this dense and informative report. Continue Reading →