News

Spotify upheaval over Rogan content

Posted on by Brad Hill

Spotify employees are more than unhappy with Joe Rogan’s controversial guests and remarks in some catalog episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience, which is starting an exclusive distribution deal. Much of the turmoil is reportedly centered around perceived transphobia expressed in the show. rogan recently apologized … for something else. Spotify staff have petitioned leadership for pre-publishing editorial control of the podcast. According to anonymously sourced reports, Daniel Ek has decided against that. Continue Reading →

Acast enters Canada; Heather Gordon exits CBC to manage; set to speak at RAIN Digital Canada

Posted on by Brad Hill

Acast announces today that it is launching its podcast advertising technology and marketplace in Canada. Heather Gordon, formerly Digital Sales Director at CBC/Radio-Canada, is  taking the role of Managing Director, Canada for Acast. Gordon is also set to speak at RAIN Digital Canada this week, Thursday Sep 24, in a Zoom extension of RAIN’s annual Canadian summit. Continue Reading →

AdLarge/cabana joins Triton Digital U.S. Podcast Report with #6/7 spots

Posted on by Brad Hill

Triton Digital released the latest edition of its U.S. Podcast Report, an ongoing ranker which covers a rolling view of 4-week reporting periods. This one is for August 3 through August 30. Stability reigns in this report, as we noted previously. But, one startling newcomer is AdLarge/cabana, which landed at #7 in the Average Weekly Downloads list, and #6 in the Average Weekly Users list. Click through for more details. Continue Reading →

Audio/podcasting entrepreneur Jake Shapiro leaves RadioPublic for Apple

Posted on by Brad Hill

As announced on his LinkedIn feed, RadioPublic and Podfund Founder/CEO, and RAIN Summit keynote speaker Jake Shapiro has joined Apple as Head of Creator Partnerships, Apple Podcasts. Shapiro notes that his former companies will continue with new leadership, as of now undisclosed. Shapiro’s appointment seems to indicate Apple’s growing interest in becoming an original content network. Continue Reading →

SiriusXM executive changes as Jim Meyer steps down — new CEO and CFO incoming

Posted on by Brad Hill

On December 31 SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer will leave the company. Replacing him will be Jennifer C. Witz, currently Director of Sales. Simultaneously, Sirius CFO David J. Frear will step away, his role to be filled by Sean Sullivan, currently CFO of AMC Networks. Meyer has been CEO for eight years, overseeing the acquisitions of Pandora, Stitcher, and Simplecast. Continue Reading →

Advertiser podcast interest up 2.5x over five years; intention up 4x; Westwood One study

Posted on by Brad Hill

Westwood One has released its fifth annual podcast advertising study, in collaboration with Advertiser Perceptions. This report is synced with the IAB Podcast Upfront, also in its fifth year. One key takeaway is that advertiser interest in podcasts, and intent to buy, have grown by multiples since 2015. Click through for details, numbers, links, and charts. Continue Reading →

Podcast networking service Wildcast launches to connect hosts & guests for networking

Posted on by Brad Hill

A new podcast networking platform, Wildcast, is launching today to facilitate networking among hosts and guests. The main function is to help podcasts find guests, and the reverse, to help people with knowledge or a message to find podcast guesting opportunities. Beyond that core purpose, the overriding mission is networking of whatever type is helpful to the industry. The site is operating free of charge for a preliminary launch period. Continue Reading →

Rumor Fact(ory): Spotify tries to acquire Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for podcast exclusive

Posted on by Brad Hill

It’s all over the entertainment press, each piece of coverage inching closer to “confirmed” than the last. (See The Mirror HERE.)To us it is still a Rumor Fact(ory) item, but certainly plausible: Spotify offering (or preparing to offer) an exclusive podcast deal to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. The dollars might be relatively modest on Spotify’s balance sheet, though — The Mirror quotes unnamed sources who say that a seven-figure deal is in the works. Continue Reading →