RAIN Notes: Wednesday, October 27
Jottings of Note
— Deadly (Evergreen Podcasts)
— Read-along Audio (SXM Media)
— Cold Case (Imperative / Cumulus / Vespucci)
Rumor Fact(ory): Amazon building a live audio app to compete with … everyone else
Today The Verge is a hub for rumors that Amazon is building what might be called another Clubhouse competitor. From what we (don’t exactly) know, it sounds like it might also compete with Spotify’s Greenroom, Spotify Shows, Twitter Spaces, Facebook Audio Rooms, and others. Continue Reading
SiriusXM takes over exclusive ad sales for Crime Junkie / Audiochuck
SiriusXM is announcing today that its SXM Media group has obtained exclusive ad-repping for Crime Junkie, a persistent top-10 podcast (currently #2 in Apple’s All Podcasts list for the U.S., as of this post), and for all shows within the Audiochuck network of which Crime Junkie is the flagship. Continue Reading
Acast re-ups with BBC for international podcast ad sales
Renewing a deal that started in 2018, Acast and the BBC have renewed their arrangement for a second three-year period. Acast will sell ads in BBC podcasts outside of the UK. It is strictly an international arrangement; the BBC arranges its podcast sponsorships directed to UK listeners. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Monday, October 25
Jottings of Note
— Heat (Vox Media)
— Breakage? (WIRED on Spotify)
— Incoming (Sony Music Podcasts)
Paris Hilton joins five media companies to build new podcast
From iHeartRadio we receive a notice that Paris Hilton is at the center of a new podcast production, Trapped In Treatment. It will launch in 2022, and is a combined effort of the celebrity with four media companies: iHeartMedia, London Audio (a division of 11:11 Media), Warner Bros., Unscripted Television, and Telepictures. Continue Reading
YouTube / Sheeran partner for “an album launch like no other”
For his latest collection, music superstar Ed Sheeran is partnering with YouTube Shorts by producing one Short for each song. YouTube Shorts is the video behemoth’s competitive stab at Tik Tok. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: FM switchoff in the UK; and a nerdy look at AM transmission characteristics Inbox
by James Cridland
James Cridland returns with one of his more technical columns, in which he closes the can of worms opened in last week’s coverage of a frequency switch at 4BC in Brisbane, Cridland’s home base. Lots of graphics. But first, the UK’s decision about FM switch-off, a new rule for smart speakers, the geography of Wales according to TuneIn, and the new BBC logo. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday, October 22
Targetspot accelerates North American expansion
Digital audio solutions company Targetspot, a division of AudioValley, is enhancing its North American presence as it does business with new N.A. partners. Click through to track several executive movements, some of them crossing the ocean. Continue Reading
Cirrus Streaming introduces complete podcasting toolkit; special features for broadcasters
Cirrus Streaming, which provides many kinds of enterprise streaming services from cloud streaming to Alexa service, has built and released a comprehensive podcasting solution. The single-dashboard solution suite includes hosting, editing, monetization, and distribution. There are special instant-podcast tools for broadcasters.
Continue Reading
Spotify opens the door to (exclusive) video podcasting
Spotify is expanding its podcast feature set while reinforcing its walled-garden experiments in podcasting. The latest: Video podcasting. “Soon, Spotify users will see a lot more video podcasts on the platform,” the company says as it rolls out the capability.… Continue Reading