RAIN Notes: December 12 Special Edition (Nieman 2025 Predictions)
Podcasting
Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.
Relevant, short, funny: Podcast listeners tell advertisers how to improve (Veritonic)
Audio analytics powerhouse Veritonic has released a concise survey report which presumes to tell marketers how to improve their podcast advertising. It’s not a scold; it’s a guide based on insights culled from hundreds of U.S. podcast listeners in November. “Not all podcast ads are created equal.”
Continue Reading
November podcast production continues 2024 dip (Listen Notes)
New podcast production slipped downward in November, continuing a trend of desultory trending. To be clear: Although no firm direction is established, the output level of new podcasts is drawing a fairly stable line, as production seems to be settling after a January peak and gradual lessening during the year. Click for graphs. Continue Reading
Veritonic goes to video
Audio research and analytics platform Veritonic is well known for its knowledge and solutions in audio, notably in podcasting. Today we learn more of the company’s capabilities in analyzing and optimizing video podcasts. Veritonic says its platform offers advanced audio analytics that can be applied to video podcasts, such as tone, emotional resonance, and content effectiveness. Click to know more. Continue Reading
Steve Goldstein: The Ups and Downs of Audio in 2024
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
Listening lift, YouTube use, personality power. Canadian Podcast Listener 2024
In most of the podcast consumer studies we receive, two main measurement types are prioritized: Size of audience, and how those audiences respond to ads. In the just-released The Canadian Podcast Listener (CPL), an annual report produced by Canadian audio research firm Signal Hill Insights, both points are boldly surfaced in the public research summary. Click for details, graphs, and link to the public deck. Continue Reading
RAIN’s top-10 best-of crime podcast list comparison 2024
We thought it would be interesting to make a list of lists — specifically, year-end top-10 lists of best True Crime podcasts, 2024. True Crime is a venerable podcast category, one progenitor of which was the Serial podcast. Click for the big graphic. Continue Reading
Spotify rules and declines; Spreaker #2 and moves up in chart of leading podcast hosting companies
In the monthly reckoning by Livewire Labs, we learn that Spotify for Creators remains (unsurprisingly) the top hosting platform for November. Spreaker, as #2, continues its rise after overtaking third-place Buzzsprout in April. The #1 and #2 podcast hosts have been converging toward each other for a few months, based on number of new episodes published per month. Continue Reading
19 new podcasts in Triton Digital’s October ranker; RAIN comparisons
Triton Digital released the October edition of its US Podcast Ranker, listing the top 150 shows. The default sorting of this list is by weekly average downloads, and that is the metric we use here. Click for month-over-month and year-over year for the top shows. Continue Reading
Audio + testing = optimized podcast advertising (Veritonic)
Audio analytics and research platform Veritonic has delivered a concise and punchy graphical rationale for podcast advertising. (It’s available HERE.) The presentation emphasizes three main points. Click for details and the download link. Continue Reading
Top podcasts of 2024 nearly identical to 2023 as success breeds success
Apple’s annual release of top podcasts in various categories is here. It is based on devices that pull from Apple Podcasts — not a platform-agnostic list such as produced by Edison Research. Click for the list, and RAIN’s year-over-year comparison.
Continue Reading
The 50/50 growth proposition in podcasting (The Podcast Marketing Academy)
The Podcast Marketing Academy (whose manifesto is HERE) has released results of a study conducted in Q1 this year: Podcast Marketing Trends. The field work interviewed 515 respondents, all of them podcasters. That group represents over two billion cumulative downloads and 28,000 produced episodes. The survey is characterized as “sadistically long and detailed.” This is Part 1 of our coverage. Continue Reading