News 115 - RAIN News

Triton US Podcast Report: NPR, and RAIN Remix

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Brad Hill

Triton digital is out today with its latest US Podcast Report, a top-100 ranking of podcasts measured by Triton’s Podcast Metrics. There are two top-100 lists: One for top podcasts by download count, and one for user count. This report also ranks the top 10 podcast publishers, including average weekly number of downloads and users per network. RAIN does a Remix of the network charts, showing how audiences and plays are distributed per show. Continue Reading →

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AccuRadio debuts new channels programmed by displaced radio pros

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Brad Hill

Streaming radio platform AccuRadio has started rolling out new channels in fulfillment of a program which invites displace radio professionals to “build the station they’ve always wanted to program.” Each accepted station pays $300 to its creator. Additionally, five $1,000 payments will be awarded to curators based on five criteria. Continue Reading →

SoundCloud, Pandora, and Facebook roll out new content and features for artist support amid pandemic

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Anna Washenko

With many artists struggling to make ends meet as the coronavirus pandemic drags on, more and more audio companies are promoting their tools to help them better reach listeners and continue to make money. There have been several moves in this space in the past week, so here’s a round-up of what’s happening where. Continue Reading →

Sonos Radio taps Targetspot for global sales partnership

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Anna Washenko

Sonos introduced a new content hub for ad-supported lean-back listening last month, and now we’ve learned more about what’s happening behind the scenes. Sonos tapped Targetspot for an exclusive global sales partnership for Sonos Radio. Continue Reading →

Amazon Q1 revenue still grew, but net income fell

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Anna Washenko

Amazon released its first quarter financials. The company did see some adverse impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Its press release included some statements about measures taken to protect employees from the virus, but did not comment on the ongoing labor debates or union efforts happening among its workforce. Continue Reading →

Radio raises $425,000 for Feeding America. What about podcasting?

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Brad Hill

U.S. commercial radio raised $425,000 for Feeding America yesterday, in a rapidly organized effort called Radio Cares. Hundreds of stations and radio groups pitched in with on-air promotions. It was a virtuosic effort. What is podcasting doing, as a cohesive medium, in this national emergency. Maybe it’s time to develop a unifying trade organization. Continue Reading →

ASCAP sees revenue and distributions surpass $1 billion for a third year

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Anna Washenko

ASCAP announced that it recorded record high distributions and revenues in 2019. The performing rights organization generated $1.274 billion in 2019 revenue, up from $1.227 billion the previous year. Distributions also surpassed $1 billion for the third consecutive year. Continue Reading →

Slower growth but another new Services record in Apple’s Q2

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Anna Washenko

Apple has reported its financial results for the three months ending March 28. The performance overall showed slowing growth, although many of its important metrics still trended upwards. Continue Reading →

Podshape takes shape in Melbourne; Jay Walkerden (ex-Nova) launches it

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Brad Hill

We learned from RadioToday that Jay Walkerden has left Australian radio group Nova, and has started a podcast production and consulting company call Podshape. The exit from nova was apparently not friendly, according to the write-up, but details are short. Anyway, Podshape is the new venture for the Brisbane executive, who ran the podcast division of Nova. Continue Reading →

Pandora listener drop connected to loss of commuter listening

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Brad Hill

In this week’s Q1 earnings call from parent company Sirius XM, we learned (and reported) that Pandora experienced a drop in monthly listeners to about 61-million, down from the year-ago Q1 report of 66-million. Sirius XM executives think they know exactly why. Continue Reading →

Survey predicts that at-home listening will be led by speakers during quarantining

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Anna Washenko

Futuresource Consulting released a report with an outlook on how the coronavirus pandemic might impact music streaming. Given the uncertainty around how COVID-19 may continue to impact both individual listening habits and broader national economies, any sort of projections should be read with several grains of salt. But a surveys and forecasts can still help companies make their best guesses about where listening trends will go. Continue Reading →

YouTube ads made more than $4 billion in Q1 2020

Posted on April 29, 2020 by Anna Washenko

Alphabet has released its first-quarter results, including figures and stats for YouTube. YouTube ads generated $4.04 billion in revenue. Continue Reading →