Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.
by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein discusses spotify’s new feature which allows music into podcasts, via the Anchor service. He recognizes the important (while noting some clunkiness in the end product), and also notes that broadcast radio has spent years decreasing the role of “the passionate musicologist DJ’s of FM radios early days.” Continue Reading
Curiouscast, the podcast network owned and operated by Canada’s Corus Entertainment, has released its fall schedule of new and returning shows. The lineup features three investigative podcasts including the award-winning Crime Beat (Season 3), and new shows 13 Hours: Inside the Nova Scotia Massacre and Whatever Happened To. Four shows are featured in today’s announcement. Continue Reading
One of Wondery’s best known shows, Business Wars, is preparing a new season that will be distributed exclusively by Wondery Plus, the company’s ad-free subscription service. Some podcasts presented in Wondery Plus also are distributed via RSS normally, with ads in the programs. In this case, the new season of Business Wars is called and “Wondery + Exclusive.” Continue Reading
The Spoken Word Audio Report 2020, produced by Edison Research and NPR, is out. One broad and important finding: 75% of the U.S. population (18+) listens to spoken word audio monthly. Daily, it is 43%. AM/FM is paying the price for increased listening to other platforms of spoken word audio; the trend is clear from 2014 to 2020. Click through for much more, and graphics, and a link to the download. Continue Reading
In a blockbuster domain acquisition which indicates strategic purpose, Amazon has acquired the domains podcast.com and podcsting.com, we learned from Podnews. The domains lead to the Audible landing page for podcasts. Audible does not distribute public podcasts via RSS, but it does create originals. This is a land grab by Amazon-owned Audible, and it seems like the company is creating a unique category definition and experience of audio storytelling. Continue Reading
RAIN is delighted to introduce the first piece from guest columnist Sam Harris of Hook Research in the UK. In this inaugural column, Harris explores the state of the kids spoken word content market in the UK and contemplates the benefits for brands operating within it. Plenty of research and quotes here, plus an overview of the child-oriented podcast and audiobook markets. Continue Reading
If users search for online content based on keywords, why shouldn’t advertisers purchase marketing campaigns the same way? In fact, they can do that within Google’s ad ecosystem. Now, podcast advertisers have an avenue for keyword-based targeting within the Acast marketplace, according to an Acast announcement. The initiative is based on proprietary technology, and an interesting view of the future. Continue Reading
Podcast host and technology company Spreaker has launched the Spreaker Campaign Manager, a tool which allows podcasters to have a more direct relationship with advertisers while increasing the podcaster’s control over ad placement. It is geared to shows where advertisers are “knocking down your organization’s door to be included in your catalog of podcasts,” Spreaker says. Continue Reading
AdLarge digital audio division cabana is today releasing its Podcast Buying Guide V3.0 — the third annual tutorial for prospective podcast advertisers and agency buyers. As with past editions, this document is admirably coherent, concise, and clarifying. We got an early look. Continue Reading
Following the U.S. Podcast Upfront a month ago, today the IAB UK produced its corresponding event. This post contains summaries and videos of the presentations. As in the U.S., the UK Upfronts transpired virtually. Presenters for this event were Acast, Audioboom, Bauer Media, DAX, Podfront, and Spotify. Following are the session summaries from the IAB UK website, and the complete video presentations. Click through to see it all, and link to the IAB UK. Continue Reading
The latest Sounds Profitable column by Bryan Barletta explores, demystifies, and evangelizes programmatic audio advertising. Along the way he offers a much-needed review of the VASt standard, and explains why audio publishers love programmatic. Continue Reading
Media company Religion of Sports is affiliating with PRX to expand its podcast activity in 2021. PRX is announcing the multi-faceted collaboration today. Religion of Sports was founded by creator Gotham Chopra, six-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady, and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan. To date it has mainly been known for this video content. The idea here is to push deeper into podcasting next year. Continue Reading