News

Impact (Brian Grazer, Ron Howard) choose ART19 for hosting / distribution

Posted on by Brad Hill

Impact, which is a content accelerator and online marketplace co-founded by Imagine Entertainment’s partners Brian Grazer & Ron Howard, has selected leading audio platform ART19 to host and distribute IMPACT: The Podcast. The show is described this way: “Impact’s new podcast brings together storytellers and entertainment industry leaders to explore the process of content creation and the way art shapes the world around us.” Tons of celebrity guests. Continue Reading →

Pandora puts interactive voice ads into beta

Posted on by Brad Hill

“Voice-activated tech is proliferating,” says Pandora, and the company has extended that aspect of digital lifestyle into responses to streaming audio ads. This week, Pandora is launching interactive Voice Ads to beta, following an alpha launch in December. The company asserts this as a first-to-market ad format in streaming audio, and the plan is to scale voice features to both listeners and select advertisers. Continue Reading →

AudioUK releases COVID-19 production guidelines for podcasts, audiobooks, and radio

Posted on by Brad Hill

The trade organization AudioUK has released a detailed document containing guidelines for producing audio safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 27-page paper covers details like workspace cleaning and protective equipment, in addition to strategic production challenges of producing audio while observing social distance guidelines. Click through for a link. Continue Reading →

Tenderfoot TV and iHeartmedia hook up for podcast co-production

Posted on by Brad Hill

Tenderfoot TV, which produces for television, film, and podcasting, is partnering with iHeartMedia in an agreement that will create nine original shows  for the iHeartRadio Original Podcasts division. The upcoming podcast slate will focus on limited series as well as several weekly shows, a new strategy for Tenderfoot TV, who has garnered over 500 million downloads for its true crime hits since the company’s launch in 2016. Some of the collaborative shows will be completely new; the two companies will also co-produce new seasons of existing shows. Continue Reading →

Virginie Berger joins Songtradr as VP of Rights Management

Posted on by Brad Hill

Songtradr, the digital music distribution and synch licensing platform, has hired Virginie Berger in the role of VP, Rights Management. Berger made the announcement on LinkedIn. She will will lead Songtradr’s Rights Administration platform and manage relationships with PROs, CMOs, and other key industry leaders, and will work across Songtradr’s many offices in four continents. Continue Reading →

ARN iHeartPodcast Network’s listening growth across categories: COVID success

Posted on by Brad Hill

ARN, the Australian media group which manages the iHeartPodcast Network on that continent, released listening numbers that could fairly describe a COVID success story. Podcast tech company Megaphone measured ARN listening from January to mid-March, and compared it to mid-March through June. Several categories, and overall listening, rose during the COVID period.
Continue Reading →

TPX offers programmatic podcast advertising via Triton Digital

Posted on by Brad Hill

Toronto-based TPX (more lengthily known as The Podcast Exchange) is announcing the availability of programmatic podcast advertising. The tech is powered by Triton Digital. While this initiative obviously targetsCanad, TPX’s home market, the PR carefully points out it is for “premium domestic and international podcast publishers.” TPX anticipastes questions about the initiative, and answers important ones in an unusually detailed press release. Continue Reading →

Pandora enables podcast downloads — only for Plus and Premium users

Posted on by Brad Hill

In its latest app update, Pandora now offers offline listening to podcasts — in other words, downloading them. We had read that the feature was exclusive to subscribers, of which there are two tiers: Plus, and semi-interactive streaming service, and Premium, a fully interactive audio listening and collection service. We thought this limitation was unusual, and reached out to Pandora for confirmation, which we received. Click through for a perspective.
Continue Reading →

SiriusXM reportedly will buy Stitcher from Scripps

Posted on by Brad Hill

After 48 hours of rumors, today we get … well, sort-of confirmation that SiriusXM will acquire Stitcher from E.W.Scripps. The confirmation part is from the Wall Street Journal. The sort-of part is the article’s first sentence: “Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is near a deal to buy E.W. Scripps Co.’s Stitcher.” There is no visible confirmation from Sirius, Stitcher, or Scripps. But, as of this morning, industry-wide assumption is that the deal is all but done … in a “poised to buy” sort of way. This acquisition adds a chapter in the corporate life of each company involved. Continue Reading →

2

New CRB royalty period approaches, but with a potential delay

Posted on by Brad Hill

If time seems to fly, consider this: A new five-year royalty period (2021-2025) for statutory payments from music streaming services to recorded music owners is approaching. The royalty period and the legal process which precedes it are nicknamed “Web V,” as it will be the fifth such royalty period regulated by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board. There might be a delay. Two pieces of news have just been posted in a new Order from the CRB. Continue Reading →