RAIN Notes: Wednesday, June 12
— Feels Like Home (Amplitude Media Partners)
— $500,000 No More (Bloomberg)
— Foundational Findings (Edison Research)
News
RAIN Notes: Friday, June 7
— “AM, AM not” (Roger Lanctot)
— It Makes One Dizzy (Spotify)
— Voice On Voice (Voice123)
TuneIn ventures into social media; partners with Discord and its 200M user base
“There’s a new way to listen to music, podcasts, and news with your friends,” gaming and community platform Discord proclaims on its Twitter account. That new way is venerable streaming platform TuneIn. Continue Reading
Podcast audience is big … and under-counted
Westwood One has released the Spring 2024 Podcast Download report. This continuing study seeks to reveal podcast consumer profiles, preferences, and habits. Collaborators in this ongoing project are Cumulus Podcast Network and Signal Hill Insights. In our first summary dive, we present the study’s key findings — two sets of them, actually.
Continue Reading
Spotify raises subscription rates; pitches innovation, features, and “best experience”
National news organizations are headlining Spotify news this morning: The international streaming giant will raise its premium subscription price. One national publication puts the pricing decision in the context of “Streaming Inflation Continues.” Spotify raised its subscription rates a year ago; before that was a 12-year stretch of stable pricing. Continue Reading
Vox Media partners with OpenAI for AI training content, with a promise of collaborative product development
In an announcement which highlights a collaboration of two leaders — the foremost AI company and a leading media content company — OpenAI and Vox Media are jointly announcing a hook-up which seeks to benefit both. Click for the details. Continue Reading
Frequency partners with Barometer for contextual targeting of podcast ads
Workflow automation and audio ad management provider Frequency is partnering with Barometer, a specialist in brand suitability and contextual targeting solutions for podcasting. The key to this arrangement is combining Barometer’s Brand Suitability and Contextual Targeting to Frequency’s Audio Ad Management Platform. The companies promise that this solution gives advertisers “enhanced capabilities for curating the ideal context to reach listeners.” Click for details. Continue Reading
Pacific Content to be shuttered by owner Rogers Media
Pacific Content, a leading producer of branded podcasts, will be shuttered by parent company Rogers Sports & Media. The company provided a statement which, while not providing financial or other data particulars, described a basic belt-tightening and sharpened focus. Continue Reading
“No Fakes Act” introduced in Senate would protect voices (and visual likeness) from AI use
A proposed bill nicknamed the No Fakes Act (Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe) seeks to recording artists and performers in all fields of entertainment from unauthorized use of their voices and likenesses. The bill states the problem… Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday, May 24
— Q&A (Sounds Profitable)
— Blatant (Billboard)
— Up North Ranking (Triton Digital)
— Starbucks P1 (Jacobs Media)
RAIN Notes: Monday, May 13
New podcast production continues 2024 slide; episode volume remains strong
New podcast production continued a three-month slide in April, after a strong January. 12,864 new shows were released in April, compared to 16,256 in March. January hit a one-year high of slightly more than 20,000 new podcasts. Continue Reading