RAIN Notes: Monday, March 21
Jottings of Note
— Smart Annoyances (WaPo)
— Easy Intimacy (Entrepreneur)
— Kid Kaboom (Hollywood Reporter)
Spotify’s Chartable starts sunset of advertiser tools to focus on podcast publishers, Megaphone
When Spotify acquired Chartable and Podsights last month, it was clearly stated that Chartable would be integrated with Spotify-owned hosting and monetization platform Megaphone. Today we learn of progress in that integration. Chartable is winding down its attribution work and throwing it over to former competitor Podsights. Continue Reading
Steve Goldstein: Wherever You Get Your Podcasts?
by Steve Goldstein
In the latest guest column from Steve Goldstein, he marches through a litany of podcast listening apps, “a curious business” according to Steve. “Developing a large following is hard and expensive, yet the apps keep coming.” It’s difficult — but not impossible — to break through to scale. Continue Reading
Six podcast advertisers in Top 15 for 11 straight months (Magellan AI)
Magellan AI released its always-interesting Top Spenders chart, listing the highest 15 spenders for February. BetterHelp lands in the #1 spot, as it has for (at least) the last 11 months that RAIN has tracked the movements in this ranker. Click for RAIN’s 11-month comparison chart. Continue Reading
Stitcher, Audacy, NPR top Triton Digital Feb. U.S. Podcast Report
Triton Digital has released the February edition of its U.S. Podcast Report, and we see Stitcher in the #1 slot as with the previous report. Audacy (#2) and NPR (#3) switch position from the previous month. The placements are based on average weekly downloads. Click for some context on this. Continue Reading
Serial to collect Governors Award at The Ambies
The Podcast Academy has announced milestone podcast Serial as the winner of the Governors Award at this year’s 2nd annual The Ambies podcast awards. The ceremony is March 22. The honor, which is chosen by The Podcast Academy Board of Governors, recognizes the impact that a podcast or individual has had on the industry. Continue Reading
French podcast companies choose Megaphone for publishing and advertising
Two French podcast publishers, Bababam and Choses a Savoir, have chosen Spotify subsidiary Megaphone for creation, monetization, and metrics analysis. As part of joining Megaphone, these two publishers will be early testers of the Spotify Audience Network in France. The announcement includes metrics from Chartable, acquired by Spotify to bundle into Megaphone. Continue Reading
Radio attrition in the home deepens: Edison / Infinite Dial
Edison Research has offered a preview tidbit in advance of the company’s annual presentation of U.S. Infinite Dial 2022, presented live at Podcast Movement Evolutions, and via live webinar. The sneak peek is about radio ownership in the home, which has been on a declining trendline for years. Click for details, graphics, and link to the webinar registration. Continue Reading
Podcast 60-second CPM drops in Feb from Jan high (AdvertiseCast)
The cost of podcast advertising dropped in February compared to an unusual January spike. This according to AdvertiseCast, the Libsyn-owned ad marketplace. The average CPM of a 60-second spot was $23.41 in February, down from a two-year high of $25.40… Continue Reading
Winamp to auction NFT of iconic original “skin” to start global nonprofit foundation for musicians
From SVP Dominick Milano we receive news that Targetspot-owned Winamp, the iconic desktop audio player which arguably started the MP3 revolution, will auction an original NFT of its first “skin” — the app’s appearance in 1997. Proceeds from this effort, and future auctions, will go into a new Winamp Foundation which will collect money to help musicians around the world. Continue Reading
PRX releases first annual report, a multimedia exploration of mission and values
Audio and podcast producer and publisher PRX released its first-ever annual report. Unlike a typical for-profit annual report, the non-profit PRX document avoids exact financials. It is a multimedia presentation of the company’s initiatives and the importance of its underwriting. Continue Reading
Libsyn sells shares for 4.75M equity financing
Publicly traded podcast hosting, advertising, and technology company Libsyn has raised $4.75-million dollars in equity financing led by Camac Partners. Camac describes its investments as “long-term in nature” lasting “decades rather than months or years.” Continue Reading