“With streaming revenue growth slowing to 6.2% in 2024, the recorded music industry’s attention is firmly fixed on superfans as the ‘get out of jail free’ card. But there are early warning signs that the industry may be going too fast and that superfan spending is being pushed to the limit.” Continue Reading
A key metric: 85% of podcast consumers say a podcast can be audio or video. That number has been growing for years. In this edition of Steve Goldstein’s guest column, we learn that 77% of podcast listeners alternate between video and audio. “Video is a significant and growing force, especially with younger audiences.” And YouTube dominates podcast discovery. But there is a head-snapping surprise in this piece, and it’s about smart TV consumption. Continue Reading
In his latest guest column, Steve Goldstein shares findings from The State of Video Podcasting 2025, a landmark study by Coleman Insights and Amplifi Media. Continue Reading
In his latest guest column, Steve Goldstein interviews Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights Officer of Cumulus Media. It is a deeply detailed conversation, the thrust of which is how to grow the podcast category to its next major revenue level, 2.5 times more lucrative than its current position in the online audio advertising realm. The questions ask for details, and Bouvard is a fount of expertise. Continue Reading
In his latest column, James Cridland buys a new car and reports on its audio features — especially the radio tuner. DAB is there, and FM, but no AM at all. Not a crisis, he observes, because AM is simulcast on DAB. But there is unfavorable UX in other ways, and the screen fail one usability test after another. All this while James is at the 14th Atelier Radiophonique Romand in Switzerland, listening to Tomas Granryd discuss the EBU’s Connected Car Playbook. Swinging over to a review of that document, James finds a mix of great ideas and self-serving ones. As always, an interesting read. Continue Reading
In his latest guest column, Amplifi Media chief Steve Goldstein dishes a year-end review of podcasting in 2024. From the election to YouTube’s ravenous appetite. From Spotify’s envy to radio companies on edge. From public radio’s erosion to Sirius XM’s pivot. From subscriptions to audiobooks. This is a year-end must-read. Settle in. Continue Reading
In his latest column, James Cridland offers a few bullet points about an apparently unsuccessful ratings gambit, a multi-standard digital radio receiver, and the latest MIDAS survey results from RAJAR. Continue Reading
In his latest guest column, Amplifi Media chief Steve Goldstein tries out Google’s new NotebookLM AI tool, and shares the AI-generated audio. He calls it impressive, jaw-dropping, exciting, weird, and unsettling. We agree. Steve also pulls back from the amazement of it, reassuringly to human podcasters. In the past, we have called out some of Steve’s columns as “must read.” This one is on a higher level of must read … and listen. Continue Reading
In his latest column, James unearths an old print ad for two Australian radio stations, and puzzles over a few conundrums. “There’s a lot to unpack from this press ad over thirty years later.” ALSO: A study from Audacy, an amazing face\t about Star Wars, the BBC applying for funds, James’ visit to the Pacific island of Niue, and more. Continue Reading
Recently we covered the release of Steve Pratt’s newly published book, Earn it: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers. Here, guest columnist Steve Goldstein interviews Pratt about verified listening as a key statistic, “Tik Tok brain,” surpassing mediocrity, the difference between attention and retention, the multi-platform challenge, the pressure to create at volume, and focusing on underserved audiences.Lots of gems in this one. Continue Reading
In his latest column, James shares takeaways from the recent Radiodays Asia and Podcast Day Asia conferences. He brings back intel about the DAB digital radio format, which he reports is gaining interest in Asian countries. And James evangelizes the format, saying it offers a surprising amount of new choice for broadcasters, which helps draw new listeners. UK radio group Global announced twelve new stations. ALSO: a wide range of observations and news from Europe, Australia, and Connecticut. It’s not called International for nothing. Continue Reading