RAIN Notes: March 14
— To Bot or Not (On The Record podcast)
— Blueprints For Startup Success (Insider Interviews)
— Smart Scaling (Podcast Advertising Playbook)
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News
Shifting podcast demos begin aligning with U.S. population realities (Edison Research)
Podcast audience demographics in the U.S. are easily generalized by most in the industry: Relatively affluent, educated, and left-leaning politically compared to the whole U.S. population. But that easy characterization is changing as U.S. podcast listening expands. Click for a six-year snapshot.
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Sony establishes $7.5 Million Audio Institute at NYU
A japanese electronics giant, an elite urban U.S. university, and several million dollars are converging to create a state-of-the-art audio institute. It is Sony behind the money — a $7.4 million donation to New York University. That grant will establish the Sony Audio Institute. Click for more. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: March 11
— Farewell to Fellow Fanatics (Rachel Whitney)
— Legacy Media Getting Rocked (Scott Klass and Nathalie Hill)
— Two for One (iHeartPodcasts)
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iHeartPodcast Awards bestowed; Las Culturistas is top winner
The annual iHeartPodcast Awards celebration happened las night (March 10) at SXSW in Austin. The recorded ceremony will be broadcast tonight (March 11) on AXS TV at 8pm ET. SPOILER ALERT: This post contains complete winner information. Continue Reading
Bill Freund, co-founder of Triton Digital, passes away at 56
Entrepreneur and digital audio executive Bill (Billy) Freund has passed away. He was 58. We learn this sad news from Inside Radio, which supplies this note: “In place of flowers, the Freund Family requests that contributions be made in Billy’s… Continue Reading
February podcast production drops 32% year over year (Listen Notes)
New podcast production took a substantial step downward in February, compared to the same month a year ago. And in the month-over-month view, January-February represents the biggest single-month drop of the 12-month period. A macro view of new podcasts per year shows the Covid-era surge followed by a return to normal. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia announces hosts & presenters for upcoming Pod Awards
iHeartMedia has sent around a bulletin revealing who will host the iHeartPodcast Awards next Monday, March 10. The event is a live ceremony at SXSW in Austin, at the Moody heater. Multiple presenters during the ceremony are also revealed today. Continue Reading
LyricFind sues Musixmatch for anticompetitive behavior
Two major providers of song lyric services are locked in a battle over licensing access to lyrics. LyricFind is the plaintiff here, accusing MusicMatch over what LyricFind calls “an anticompetitive scheme” with major music publisher Warner Chappell Music, Inc. Continue Reading
Libsyn anoints new VP Marketing
Podcast creative and advertising platform Libsyn announces a new executive appointment: Christopher Avello takes the position of vice President of Marketing. Avello will lead the company’s marketing strategy while expanding Libsy’s reach and strengthening engagement. The new role starts immediately, and is based in Boston. Continue Reading
Wondery cuts staff: “No longer required.”
Prominent podcast studio Wondery is trimming staff, but details are not in focus. The story broke in Reuters, which quotes an unnamed source estimating the scope of the action as “dozens and dozens.” Amazon’s public remarks refer to a small number of jobs. Continue Reading
YouTube: One billion monthy podcast users; claims supremacy
YouTube has been counting it up, and yesterday announced an enviable metric: One billion monthly podcast users. Tim Katz, Vice President, Partnerships, Podcasts posted the notice with a bit of competitive spirit. Continue Reading