Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.
Podcast hosting and technology platform Megaphone sent out the first of what the company promises to be monthly business updates. this one, for September, headlines with number of downloads for that month: 750-million. Click through for quotes. Continue Reading
In June, PRX and Google announced a new year of the accelerator, training, and funding program that was first formed in October, 2018. Today comes the announcement of winners. Twenty podcast teams from around the world, working in six languages across 11 countries, will benefit from training, mentoring, and funding up to $12,000 each. Click through for all the details. Continue Reading
RAIN is delighted to welcome guest columnist Bryan Barletta, who will share his popular Sounds Profitable weekly newsletter on Wednesdays. It is all about podcast ad-tech. In this one, a deep dive into the IABv2 measurement standard. Continue Reading
Podcast advertising intelligence company Magellan AI has released its monthly report — actually a dual report of top advertisers for August, and top “movers and shakers” for the month. Movers and shakers are 15 advertisers which increased their podcast ad-buying investment the most, month-over-month from July-August. The top advertisers are simply the biggest spenders. There is no duplication in the two lists. Click through for details and links. Continue Reading
by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein interviews Bryan Barletta, author of the Sounds Profitable newsletter, which examines advertising technology. Click through for a discussion of data, privacy, geo-targeting, a forecast of podcast programmatic advertising … and much more. Continue Reading
Bloomberg is reporting that podcast network Wondery is for sale, hopin to attract a buyer in the $200-400-million range. This according to unidentified sources for the Bloomberg report. According to those sources, Wondery revenue will surpass $40-million this year. Continue Reading
AdsWizz has announced that it is a finalist in three OMMA Awards. The OMMA Awards (Online Marketing Media and Advertising) exist to honor agencies and advertisers that engage and advance digital advertising. Click through to see the categories. Continue Reading
by Bill Rosenblatt
Guest columnist Bill Rosenblatt analyzes Amazon’s most significant entry to podcasting — a podcast listening service integrated with Amazon Music. Comparing Amazon to Spotify is instructive, and this piece also takes into account how Amazon’s lead in the smart speaker market plays into strategic decision around podcasting. One question for the near future, according to rosenblatt: How will audiobooks play in these global audio platforms? Continue Reading
Titles You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton, the ex-Secratary of State is down for hosting an iHeartRadio Original Podcast. It’s too facile to say this project was inspired by Michelle Obama’s show on Spotify, but it does optically represent a counterpoint. Launching september 29, it’ll be a conversational program, featuring what we think is a pretty interesting lineup of guests. Click through for details and to hear the trailer. Continue Reading
Podcast hosting giant Libsyn is announcing a new partnership with Player FM, a podcast listening app and discovery engine. The deal is effective immediately, and Libsyn’s clients can distribute their shows to Player FM starting now. Libsyn’s research indicates that Player FM is a top-10 3rd-party aggregation app by number of downloads. Continue Reading
by Steve Goldstein
Everyone knows about podfades, podcasts that start but don’t continue due to lack of initiative. “Many are started on a whim; some creators hope for instant stardom and riches,” Steve Goldstein observes. But this column is about making a strategic choice to end a podcast run. “The ongoing question for podcast producers and creators to ask when thinking of pulling the plug is whether a show is on its way up, sideways, or out.” Goldstein itemizes and explains six decision points in this important column. Continue Reading
Podcast advertising intelligence company Magellan AI released some research on how buyers place their holiday marketing in podcasts. Looking at last year’s holiday advertising, and examining podcast holiday content, the company comes up with recommendations for this year. Chief among them to buyers: Get your podcast advertising in place now. Click through for details, charts, and a download link. Continue Reading