News

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Google Play Music to close … soon. Google attempts to funnel users into YouTube Music.

Posted on by Brad Hill

The warning is clear, though without a timeline: “You will soon lose access to Google Play Music.” That’s what Android users see when they open the Google Play Music app — Google’s would-be direct competitor to Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Users are advised to transfer their accounts to YouTube Music, where the subscriptions will continue. YouTube Music is a starkly different UEX environment and library proposition. Continue Reading →

AdsWizz milestone: 1M PodScribe transcripts completed for sharply targeted advertising

Posted on by Brad Hill

Just over a year since ad-tech company AdsWizz launched PodScribe, a proprietary podcast transcript feature, the company has announced that one-million episodes have been transcribed and are available for word-specific targeting by podcast advertisers. The tool illuminates contexts within podcast episodes and enables advertisers to target brand-safe positioning, and avoid brand-unsafe contexts. Continue Reading →

Audible becomes more podcast-y with more shows, while retaining its image as curator

Posted on by Brad Hill

Audible has branched out to the open podcast realm, announcing an addition of 100,000 free shows. These podcasts appear in the Audible app and presumably can be heard by non-subscribers. This is a fairly big movement for the Amazon-owned Audible, a hardline subscription business. But it’s only 100,000 shows in a universe of 1.5-million, and a search for known shows came up empty. Continue Reading →

Acast places entire podcast ad inventory in Strata, a leading media campaign platform

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a startling announcement, which in hindsight seems inevitable, leading media campaign planning and buying platform Strata has accepted the entire inventory of podcast company Acast. Acast’s portfolio of 20,000+ podcasts will be exposed to agencies and advertisers engaged in all kinds of media marketing. This deal will be seen in a future rear-view mirror as breakthrough. Continue Reading →

Prisa renews with Triton Digital and expands relationship

Posted on by Brad Hill

We received word today that Prisa, the world’s largest spanish-speaking radio group, and a podcast producer, has re-upped with Triton Digital for a broad range of Triton services. They include delivery, monetization, and measurement of its digital audio assets including live radio, on-demand programming, and podcast audio. Prisa will continue to be measured in the Triton Digital Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker of streaming entities. Prisa will also put its podcasts in Omny Studio, a Triton Digital subsidiary. Continue Reading →

Megaphone gets more sports podcasts, signs The Athletic

Posted on by Brad Hill

Enterprise podcast host and ad tech company Megaphone has signed sports publisher The Athletic to its platform, increasing the volume and range of the sports content hosted in its podcast marketplace.The Athletic website shows dozens of podcasts in sports castegories ranging from Fantasy Football to Sports Business, Boxing to UK Women’s Football. Megaphone cites “millions of monthly listeners,” and this new inventory is piled into an already impressive sports lineup for the podcast hosting and monetization company. Continue Reading →

Music on YouTube: Supply those pipes! (MIDiA Research)

Posted on by Brad Hill

Head of MIDiA Research Mark Mulligan has published an article about maximizing YouTube music chanels. Titled “How YouTube can be a music industry growth driver,” the piece asserts that non-Anglo music channels on YT operate differently from their Anglo counterparts, and are finding success. Click through for an illuminating chart and a link to the analysis. Continue Reading →

Podcast host Captivate intros insertion tech and audio optimization for small podcasters

Posted on by Brad Hill

Captivate, the podcast hosting and tech company which self-describes as “the world’s only growth-oriented podcast host” is introducing tools designed to help small podcasts make money and make better audio. The new collection of tools is called AMIE, an acronym for Audio Mastering & Integration Engine. Today’s announcement is for a private beta release, with a timeline for public availability “over the next few months.” Continue Reading →

iHeartMedia acquires Voxnest; focus on advertising technology

Posted on by Brad Hill

The consolidation trend which has defined and accelerated enterprise podcasting for the past four years has a new story to tell today. iHeartMedia has reached agreement to fully acquire Voxnest, parent company of the Spreaker hosting and technology platform. Technology is the main impetus for this alignment, from iHeart’s perspective. Voxnest self-describes as “an audio technology company, specializing in podcasting solutions.” Click through for details, perspective, and quotes. Continue Reading →

Podcast is a lean-in, attention-holding medium for advertisers (Canadian Podcast Listener)

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a “sneak peek” at the 2020 edition of the Canadian Podcast Listener research report, listening to podcasts is revealed to be an intensely attentive activity compared to social media, listening to music, and watching short videos. Listening to podcasts takes roughly the same level of concentration as checking news and watching shows. Although podcast advertising success metrics are not part of this preview, the report does obliquely mention value to marketers in a key takeaway, and it seems self-evident that an attentive, concentrated audience is favorable to advertising generally. Continue Reading →

Joe Biden, Penn State, and others leap into podcast advertising (Magellan)

Posted on by Brad Hill

Magellan AI has released its always interesting Top 15 Advertisers reports. One is “Movers and Shakers” (greatest increase from the previous month), and the other is top advertisers overall by spend. The Joe Biden campaign dipped its toe into the water with $163,000. By contrast, the top overall podcast advertiser in Magellan’s view was Better Help, spending $5.4-million. Therapy is clearly more lucrative than politics. Continue Reading →