Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.
Only four newcomers cracked Triton Digital’s Podcast Report for March, , which ranks the top 100 podcasts by average weekly downloads. The top-10 cohort remained the same with some order shuffling. Click for lots of detail. Continue Reading
In nearly every listening metric, the Boomer generation lags younger groups when it comes to involvement in online audio generally, and podcasting specifically. That’s the conclusion of an interesting and revealing collection of data from Edison Research and NPR. Boomers act differently from younger groups in key audio-related behaviors, making older listeners clearly identifiable and attractive. Click for takeaways and a link to the study. Continue Reading
iHeartPodcasts, Wondery, and NPR were the top 1, 2, and 3 podcast publishers in March, according to the Podtrac Top Publishers ranker. This monthly accounting tracks Podtrac measurement clients only. Click through for the entire report, plus the RAIN Remix which re-sorts the data for an average per-show view. Continue Reading
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has announced the presentation lineup for the Spring 2023 Podcast Upfront. In doing so, we learn that the event will expand from its Covid-era online format to a hybrid in-person/streaming arrangement. The date is May 11, and the location is Quorum by Convene in Manhattan. Click through for the agenda. Continue Reading
The average cost per thousand (CPM) for podcast ads inched upward in March, across all measures of audience size. This according to AdvertiseCast’s monthly tracker, where average CPM for all audience size buckets (1,000 to 100,000+) settled in at $22.14, rising from the February average of $21.99. Click through for a 3-year trend chart. Continue Reading
by Steve Goldstein
There is a lot of chatter about the new era of “efficiency” in business today, says guest columnist Steve Goldstein. “Going forward, the podcast business will be scrutinizing everything more closely,” he notes. Good? Bad? Goldstein observes a shift to quality over quantity. Click for more. Continue Reading
March saw the launch of 12, 408 new podcasts, the fewest in the 13-month period which includes March 2022. That metric from Listen Notes, which produces monthly and annual statistics of podcast creation. The high point of that 13-month span came in March 2022, when 22,533 new shows were created. Click for annual productivity and charts. Continue Reading
From the beginning, podcasting used the open RSS system for distribution. RSS enables any audio app to present podcasts in any kind of directory system. It’s an open, unowned protocol. But when the most popular podcast in the U.S. (The Joe Rogan Experience, according to Edison Research) is purchased by one of the most popular listening apps in the world (Spotify), the door slams shut on RSS. Justin Jackson, a founder of Transistor.FM, posted a detailed advocacy for RSS. Continue Reading
Last October the Planet Money podcast announced that it was starting a record label — with one song: “Inflation” by Earnest Jackson. The song was independently released 47 years previously, but failed to reach any kind of “hit” status. Planet Money thought current economic conditions warranted a re-release, and also wanted to learn about the economics of the music business, so the podcast crew put the song on Spotify. Now it’s a hit. Continue Reading
Synthetic Stories is a new podcast, and the first podcast (as far as we know) produced entirely by Artificial Intelligence (AI). That includes the script, the sound design, the music composition, the artwork, the voice performance, and the promotional materials accompanying the release. The presentation reminds us of synthetically produced audiobooks; we check on Apple’s progress with that. All these example are persuasive … a threat to performers, and a potential cost-cutting option to producers. Continue Reading
A month after announcing upcoming layoffs, NPR has started and possibly completed the 10% workforce reduction. CEO John Lansing calls the action “existential.” The action is NPR’s largest layoff since 2008. Four podcasts will be discontinued. Individual and departmental targets are not specified, but it’s a broad sweep across many functions and types of work. NPM is not affected. Click for more details. Continue Reading
The awaited opening of YouTube Podcasts has arrived. Podcasts have long been posted to YouTube, of course, but until now there has not been a structured presentation of them, or promotion and discovery tools specifically for them. It is detached from traditional RSS distribution. Click through for details and images. Continue Reading