News

Spotify moves forward with more mixed-media playlisting; now it’s Daily Sports

Posted on by Brad Hill

Spotify has announced a new daily sports playlist, appropriately named Daily Sports. This new product triples down on mixed-media programming that combines spoken word and music. As such, the playlists are personalized to each user — at least so far as the music is chosen. Spotify has been down this road twice already, with Daily Wellness and Your Daily Drive. Mixing spoken word with music is part of the company’s effort to diversify listening, and shift usage time into low-cost non-music content. Continue Reading →

Bob Pittman on podcasting, ubiquity, paywalling (Q2 earnings)

Posted on by Brad Hill

In last week’s iHeartMedia (IHRT) earnings call, CEO Bob Pittman discussed podcast strategy, podcast strategy, and podcast strategy. And a bit of radio. The financials included the entire business, and the COVID effect. But the go-forward mission leans heavily into on-demand audio, both as a stand-alone advertising business, and a synergistic opportunity with the largest array of commercial radio stations in the U.S. Click through for quotes. Continue Reading →

Nielsen signs Veriton One to Podcast Buying Power Service

Posted on by Brad Hill

Veritone One is the latest podcast entity to subscribe to Nielsen’s Podcast Buying Power Service, Nielsen is announcing today. Nielsen’s subscription program ties listeners and their buying habits to podcast categories, to help advertisers (especially brand advertisers) plan more effective and targeted campaigns. The Podcast Buying Power Service launched in July of last year, with five major podcast publishers as charter subscribers. As a new subscriber Veritone One is an audio advertising agency. Continue Reading →

Townsquare Media earnings: Net down, digital gains share

Posted on by Brad Hill

Townsquare Media’s COVID quarter tells a varied story in the company’s Q2 earnings release. Net income for the quarter was down year-over-year (a nearly universal Q2 earnings story), while digital revenue gained in share of total revenue. CEO and RAIN Summit keynoter Bill Wilson noted that sequential revenue (month-over-month within the quarter) rose, and that Townsquare Interactive, the company’s subscription service for digital marketing, earned nearly half of total net revenue. Continue Reading →

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Google Play Music: Days numbered, to the relief of brand confusion

Posted on by Brad Hill

Google Play Music will reportedly be shuttered. The timetable? September for Australia and New Zealand, October for everyone else. Users will have until end-of-year to retrieve their cloud-stored music. The existing YouTube Music will take over as Google’s on-demand streaming service. This shift is helpful to what has been Google’s audio-related miasma of branding. Continue Reading →

A new podcast incupator project: iHeartRadio with Tongal

Posted on by Brad Hill

iHeartRadio, one of the world’s largest podcast publishers, and Tongal, a content creation and talent crowdsourcing platform, are teaming up on The Next Great Podcast, an open call for submissions to win resources for developing a new iHeartRadio podcast. Tongal, which has been a resource for film production, will likely gain more recognition in podcasting with this venture. Semi-finalists get $1,000 each, and the winner gets an on-ramp to making an iHeartRadio podcast. Continue Reading →

SiriusXM: Streaming, acquisitions, and the uncertainty of podcasting

Posted on by Brad Hill

In its recent Q2 earnings call, Sirius XM discussed streaming, its multiple acquisitions, and podcasting in some detail. Remarks about podcasting are quite interesting, somewhat shading the industry as young and largely immature, while evangelizing the production and marketing power of SiriusXM. Click through for many quotes. Continue Reading →