Acast enters Finland, via a partnership with Finnish marketing agency Asennemedia. In the agreement, the 50 podcasts represented by Asennemedia will be hosted on Acast, and exposed to Finnish advertisers through the Acast marketplace. Continue Reading
In a major and meaningful corporate reorg, Townsquare Media has united its previously separate linear and digital content teams. A key executive promotion leads this development on the company’s news page: Jared Willig is named Chief Content Officer, overseeing content across all radio and digital platforms and consumer touchpoints. Continue Reading
In research conducted by the Audio Publishers Association (APA), Edison Research, and InterQ Research, the APA announced earlier this month that audiobook revenue rose 12% in 2020, to $1.3-billion. Click through for many more stats in this vibrant and fast-growing audio field. Continue Reading
by Matt Deegan
Guest columnist Matt Deegan (Folder Media) reports on radio and podcast acquisition activity. Not much more to buy in UK radio, and a deep dive into Sony Music’s grab of Somethin’ Else podcasts. “The deal with Sony could be seen as a bit of a reverse take-over. The Somethin’ Else team, with Steve Ackerman soon to be in New York, and Jez Nelson in London, take over all of Sony’s podcast activities, merging them with their own – all under the Sony Music banner.” Click for more. Continue Reading
A proposed bill called the American Music Fairness Act was introduced yesterday in a public spectacle attended by Dionne Warwick and other music celebrities. The legislation is fronted by congressional reps Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Darrell Issa (R-CA). Click for details on the argument and the proposed solution. Continue Reading
Audacy, a leading sports broadcaster and streamer, is opening a new sports podcast studio called 2400Sports. The venture begins with a content partnership with Major League Baseball, and another with Jody Avirgan’s Roulette Productions. Get ready for a LOT of baseball documentaries and team-specific podcasts. Continue Reading
A majority of Latinos in the U.S. have listened to a podcast. That teaser is leaked by Edison Research to promote an upcoming webinar release of the second annual Latino Podcast Listener Report. Dual-language presentations are scheduled at different times on Tuesday, July 13. Click through for details and registration links. The webinars are free. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— Smart (“Smartless” podcast)
— No Party Favors (Wondery)
— Missing the Mark (Apple Music)
The Washington Post has hired Renita Jablonski as director of audio (title uncapitalized in the press release). Jablonski comes from Spotify, and is also ex-NPR. The move signals the importance of audio to WaPo, which displays neary 30 shows on its podcast page. Continue Reading
In a very interesting (and fairly technical) new report from AdsWizz targeted to advertisers and agencies, audio advertising is evangelized in a general way while the company’s audio ad attribution product is explained and promoted. Attribution has been a blazing-hot keyword in podcast advertising for a couple of years. AdsWizz expands the scope of potential attribution to the entire realm of digital audio advertising. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— A Breeze (NH Public Radio)
— Smart Down Under (Edison Research)
— Work (Chartable)
Podcast Radio, the DAB+ all-podcast radio station in the UK, has hooked up with Triton Digital’s ad-tech suite for the delivery, monetization, and measurement of its online streams. Continue Reading