RAIN Notes: Tuesday, June 25
— Historical Reference (Fred Jacobs)
— AMPing Up The Executive Team (Amplitude Media)
News
iHeart Podcast Union closes first contract deal with significant pay/benefit increases
The iHeart Podcast Union has ratified its first union contract with iHeartMedia, the group announced this morning on X. The news comes with the first raft of employment agreements. Click for the details. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Tuesday, June 25
— The Final Nail (Google)
— Addition (Soundstack)
— Subscription Resistance (Jacobs Media)
Podcast advertising: double-digit more effective than TV/video (Acast/OMD)
Podcast network Acast, and communications agency OMD, have partnered to conduct what they characterize as “a comprehensive new study” to quantify the effectiveness of podcast advertising. Double-digit percentage gains are the outcome for podcast advertising compared to what the report calls “average media.” Continue Reading
Recorded music industry revenues flat in 2023 … but then inflation. (RIAA)
U.S. recorded music revenues in 2023 continued the flat-to-upward movement of recent years. We examine the RIAA reckoning of music revenue sales in 2023. Holding steady during uncertain times, it seems … until you account for inflation. Click through for the graphs. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Thursday, June 13
— Feels Like Home (RESOUND)
— Cheap + Beer = Frightful Hilarity (Evergreen Podcasts)
— Exotic Global Streaming (NTS)
RAIN Notes: Wednesday, June 12
— Feels Like Home (Amplitude Media Partners)
— $500,000 No More (Bloomberg)
— Foundational Findings (Edison Research)
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.
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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