RAIN Notes: Friday, October 13
— Corpus Electrica (Manoush Zomorodi)
— The Apple Influence (Ross Adams)
— Transition (Eric John)
News
Podchaser launches Airchecks, borrowing a radio term to describe AI verification and insights for advertisers
Podchaser, an Acast company, is releasing a new ad verification layer to its tech stack. Called Airchecks, and honoring the radio heritage of that term, the product leverages AI to analyze keywords and patterns in podcast waveforms. Two main goals propel this venture. Continue Reading
Spotify for Podcasters (S4P) upgrades for customization, discovery, and monetization
Podcasters who distribute on Spotify (the dominant podcast delivery system by far) are recipients of a substantial upgrade of tools for managing the Spotify portion of their businesses. The just-announced upgrade is in three parts, emphasizing presence, insights, and monetization. Click for details and screenshots. Continue Reading
Will Ferrell’s pod network to create multi-platform comedy show and talent incubator
Will Ferrell’s podcast network, Big Money Players, is working with iHeartMedia to create a multi-platform comedy creators program and multimedia comedy show. The talent incubator part of this will roll out at Ferrell’s discretion, highlighting his personally selected comedians. Those individuals will join the BMP network and be showcased across the iHeartMedia ecosystem. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Thursday, October 5
Latino podcast listeners control $2.8-trillion purchasing power and podcast ads motivate them
In its most recent Latino Podcast Listener Report from Edison Research, this segment of podcast listenership is portrayed as racing into podcast engagement, and highly receptive to advertising. As a national group, Latinos wield impressive purchasing power. Edison puts a number on that: $2.8-trillion, and dramatically computes that overall purchasing budget as greater than the GDP of the UK or India. Click for much more info, and a link to the presentation slides.
Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Wednesday, October 4
— In and Out of China (TED)
— Crushing News (Podnews)
— Long-form Advertising (Acast) Continue Reading
Spotify unlocks 150,000 audiobooks for free listening, with limits
Today, Spotify announces the unlocking of more than 150,000 titles, making them free to Premium subscribers. But there remains a limitation: 15 hours of listening per month. Users can spread that allotment over an unlimited number of titles — so nibbling is allowed. Click for more. Continue Reading
Acast inks Warner Bros. Discovery for podcast distro / sales
Acast has signed an agreement with Warmer Bros. Discovery to be the exclusive distributor and monetization partner for some of Discovery’s podcasts. Warner Bros. channels involved in this arrangement include Food Network, TLC, HGTV, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and the Travel Channel. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Monday, October 2
— Awarded (Brisith Podcast Awards)
— Down Under Demos (YouGov)
— Crime Truth (Lava For Good) Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday, September 29
— THE Analysis (Adam Bowie)
–Canadian Trends (Triton Digital)
— Explaining (Veritonic) Continue Reading
Evergreen Podcasts partners with Sounder in latest AI collab for ad targeting
Production network Evergreen Podcasts is now partnering with AI-powered intelligence platform Sounder in a strategic partnership that prioritizes brand safety and contextual targeting. The partnership seems to climb aboard a quickly moving train in which AI is leveraged to give advertisers a more crystalline understanding of a podcast’s content, its level of safe language, and other attributes important to advertisers. Continue Reading