RAIN Notes: Tuesday, August 10
Jottings of Note
— Jab History (iHeartMedia)
— Death x3 (Wondery)
— Expansion (Bauer Media)
Spotify tests “Plus,” splitting the difference between Free and Premium — potential new service tier
Spotify is testing a new service tier called “Plus,” which, for $0.99 per month, offers a little more interactivity than Spotify Free. If implemented, it would provide a middle-ground service between total lean-back (Spotify Free) and total lean-in (Spotify Premium). Continue Reading
Podtrac Top Podcasts, July: Only four new shows from year-ago
Podtrac released its Top Podcasts monthly ranker for July. There is always a good deal month-over-month repetition in this ranker, as top shows continue their success reaching listeners. This month, we compared the July 2021 list with the July 2020 list to get a year-over-year view of repeat appearances. Continue Reading
Mark Cuban’s Fireside Chat audio platform partners with Libsyn for added distribution
Fireside Chat, a social audio platform launched by co-founders Mark Cuban and Falon Fatemi, which launched in the wake of Clubhouse’s success, announced at Podcast Movement this week a partnership with venerable podcast host Libsyn. The tie-up promises to give Fireside creators a one-touch podcasting solution for distribution in the open podcast ecosystem. The announcement was delivered at a Cuban/Fatemi keynote presentation at Podcast Movement this morning. Continue Reading
Podcast Movement 2021: Nearly 400 speakers converged in Nashville as annual gathering proceeded in person and online
Podcast Movement, the largest gathering of podcasting creatives and industry execs, returned to the physical realm in 2021 after an all-virtual installation of the series in 2020. This year’s gathering was at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville. The organizers hedged their bet with a co-produced virtual event. We went to Nashville. Continue Reading
SXM Media starts AQ Academy to certify buyers in audio intelligence
SXM Media, the supply-side audio ad sales network of Sirius XM, which bundles inventory in satellite radio and its digital audio subsidiaries Pandora and Stitcher, is launching AQ Academy. Think of “AQ” as audio intelligence (IQ + audio = AQ). Continue Reading
Audioboom plays for Samsung Galaxy users with new distribution deal
Audioboom has struck a deal with Samsung in which the podcast company’s top 100 podcasts appear in the Samsung Free app. Samsung Free comes pre-installed on newer Samsung Galaxy devices, features all kinds of curated media content at no cost, and is used by millions of people globally. Continue Reading
Matt Deegan: Radio and Podcast Acquisitions
by Matt Deegan
Guest columnist Matt Deegan (Folder Media) reports on radio and podcast acquisition activity. In this edition, Matt muses on iHeartRadio’s tie-up with TuneIn, which put iHeart’s radio station streams in TuneIn’s streaming audio app. He notes that BBC pulled its streams out of TuneIn, and speculates on how Global fits into iHeart’s larger picture … or vice versa. Continue Reading
BBC Sounds app in Q2: nearly 4M users, 300M+ plays
BBC Sounds, the digital player app produced by and representing the BBC, released a brief Q2 metrics report. The deck is free. Click through for some details and the download link. Continue Reading
Podcast call-ins become digitized and easier with two new products
Featuring listener voices in a podcast adds personality and engagement, but isn’t very common. That might be because setting up a phone number, harvesting messages, recording them, and placing them in a show is an awkward and difficult production task. The problem seems to be entering a solution phase as at least two companies are launching products this week to simplify and digitize the interactivity. Continue Reading
Triton releases Webcast Metrics Streaming Rankers for June: U.S., LATAM, EMEA, Global
Triton Digital has released its consolidated Streaming Rankers for June, covering the U.S., LATAM (Latin America), EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), and the Global report. Click for details and the download link. Continue Reading
VURBL selects DAX to exclusive ad-repping in U.S.
VURBL, a free streaming audio platform for all audio types, has struck an agreement with DAX for U.S. ad reselling. It is an exclusive deal for DAX. Continue Reading