News

Google loses patent suit vs Sonos, downgrades Nest features for speaker groups

Posted on by Brad Hill

A patent lawsuit pertained to Sonos controls of speaker groups, and Google lost all five counts of infringement that Sonos bought against the company’s Nest speaker technology — smart speakers which embody the Google Assistant artificial intelligence. Rather than pay royalties to Sonos, Google is downgrading a certain cluster of features in its smart speakers. Users aren’t thrilled. Click for details. Continue Reading →

Spotify intros interactive call-to-action cards for podcast advertisers, reducing reliance on discount codes

Posted on by Brad Hill

Spotify is hoping a new podcast advertiser product — call-to-action cards — will bring interactivity to podcast sponsorship, allow listeners to easily pursue advertised offers, and double the benefit of podcast advertising to companies which offer products directly to consumers. The cards exited a testing period into formal launch today. Continue Reading →

Downloads up, audience mixed (Podtrac) and RAIN Remix of December Top Publishers ranker

Posted on by Brad Hill

In the December Top Podcast Publishers list from Podtrac, U.S. Unique Monthly Audience increased for 4 of the Top 20 publishers in December over November. Total Global Downloads for the Top 20 were up 9% month-over-month and up 19% year-over-year. Click through for the entire list, plus RAIN’s remix which sorts top publishers by average audience size and downloads per show. Continue Reading →

AccuRadio intros “World’s largest playlist of holiday songs.” It is big.

Posted on by Brad Hill

Venerable streaming music service AccuRadio sent around a notice that it has curated what the company describes as the world’s largest playlist of holiday songs. We won’t argue — this juggernaut of holiday cheer contains 17,000 tracks, and would require over five weeks of uninterrupted streaming to hear them all. Click through for details and links. Continue Reading →

Canadian digital audio listening surpasses radio for first time; divergence will increase (eMarketer)

Posted on by Brad Hill

Canadian listeners chose digital audio sources slightly more than radio in 2021, for the first time. This according to eMarketer. “The switch is related to a reduction in commuting,” the company notes, “which has had a direct impact on terrestrial radio consumption.” eMarketer is predicting a widening of the gap in 2022. Continue Reading →