RAIN Notes: February 6
— Continuing Self-Reinvention (Universal Music Group)
— The Enduring Top 3 (Edison Research)
— — Head First (Dane Cardiel)
Steve Goldstein: AI Slop is Everywhere – and it’s getting worse
Guest columnist Steve Goldstein concentrates his latest article on “AI slop” — low-quality, generic, or soulless AI-generated content that clutters the digital space. Many AI products and enhancements feel like solutions in search of a problem. Yes, “AI” moves markets, but at what cost? Steve dives deep in his analysis of AI content, consumer reaction to it, and — crucially — five types of damage from sonic slop. A must-read. Continue Reading
A high bar for growth, defying expectations, and more from Spotify to investors
In Spotify’s Q4 earnings call with investors, the word “podcast” was not spoken in the prepared remarks. Only when an investor asked about it in the Q&A portion did the company address its podcast business by name. In reply, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek numbered four ways in which value has been added to Spotify’s advertisers: “AI is one of those ways, video is obviously another one, podcasting is the third, audiobooks is the fourth.” Onekey point: Leaving the door open to charging for ad-supported listening. Click for key points and quotes from Spotify’s Q4 earnings call. Continue Reading
Spotify Q4 earnings and forecast: 1st-time full-year profit
Streaming audio juggernaut Spotify released Q4 earnings. “We ended 2024 with strong Q4 performance, as nearly all of our KPIs exceeded guidance and profitability reached record levels.” thecompany stated. Continued growth is expected for 2025.” Continue Reading
Time spent with Radio News/Talk lifted by streaming
The News/Talk format on U.S. radio received the largest share of time spent listening in the expansive 18+ age group. That finding from a new report released by Nielsen and Edison Research. Click for more. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: February 3
— Closing the (Audio)book, Spotify Prevails in Lawsuit Defense (Spotify)
— Nominations Welcome (Women’s Podcasters Awards)
— Onward and Upward (PQ Media) Continue Reading
SiriusXM 2024 financials: Slight revenue loss across the board
SiriusXM released its full-year finance comparisons, for the organization as a whole, and its Pandora streaming music subsidiary. The report offers both full-year and Q4 2024 numbers. Here, we focus on the full-year picture. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: January 31
— A Voice of Integrity (Sean Ross)
— Crowd Reaction (Barrett Media)
— Greatness Ranked (Great Pods) Continue Reading
iHeartMedia lands exclusive U.S. ad repping of BBC podcasts
In a major cross-continental announcement, iHeartMedia has landed an agreement with BBC Studios to be the exclusive third-party sales partner for BBC podcasts in the U.S. “We couldn’t be more honored and excited,” said iHM CEO Conal Byrne Continue Reading
Audacy completes bankruptcy process; CEO David Field exits
Broadcasting/audio giant Audacy has closed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process which started a year ago. At this important juncture, CEO David Field steps out of his leadership roles of President, CEO, and board member. A new CEO steps in from the Board of Directors as the interim leader. Click for details. Continue Reading
Newspaper readers over-index for podcast listening (The Media Audit)
Market Research company The Media Audit has released data showing correlation between reading daily newspapers and listening to podcasts every day. Daily podcast consumption over indexes for heavy newspaper reading. Continue Reading
Threat to Tik Tok; threat to podcasting?
Skirting current politics, Edison Research has reached into its trove of survey data to find a measurement of how podcast consumption would be reduced if political lightning rod Tik Tok were shut down. Continue Reading