RAIN Notes: Wednesday, July 7
Jottings of Note
— Sane Sounds (Steve Keller, Pandora)
— RSS Forever (Ross Adams, Acast)
— A Royal Hire (Archewell Audio)
Audacy adds hundreds of curated streaming stations for a “listener-centric digital content experience.” We test.
The Audacy app, the streaming component of the Audacy corporation which operates the second-largest group of commercial radio stations in the U.S., has built a large collection of new streaming stations — 350 of them, all human-curated. We test it. That doesn’t go well, but we still like the idea. Continue Reading
As conversational marketing becomes prevalent, new research reveals how consumers use voice AI now
New research from Vixen Labs, the Open Voice Network, and research company Delineate presumes an incoming era of conversational marketing. The survey of 6,000 people in the US, UK, and Germany seeks to understand how voice AI is used now. This post covers Part 1. Click through for data and graphics. Continue Reading
As new podcasts leap, top podcasts remain the same (Stitcher app study)
In a newly released annual study from Stitcher, we learn that top podcasts remain mostly unchanged in an annual comparison of Stitcher app data, much as they do in the many monthly rankers we report. Click through for details, other metrics, and illustrations. Continue Reading
Megyn Kelly moves her podcast to SiriusXM
In a deal whose details are undisclosed, ex-FOX-NBC anchor and interviewer Megyn Kelly will move her popular podcast (The Megyn Kelly Show) to SiriusXM on the Triumph Channel. Doing so moves the show behind a subscription paywall and out of… Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Who cares? Plus, Audacy’s 350 new stations
by James Cridland
James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this edition he identifies a chronic and damaging failure of audio production, complete with an illustrative DAW waveform. Plus much more. Continue Reading
Private podcasting warms up with venture funding of Castos
The boutique market of in-house podcasting for distributing company-private information might be warming up with a new investment: Castos, a wordPress-powere private podcasting host has raised $756,000 from a coalition of investors. Continue Reading
Branded podcasts, sure. How about branded podcast episodes? An SXM Media example.
The rationale of branded podcasts is to build an audience around a show which is affiliated with a brand, but avoids outright marketing. In many, the brand is rarely mentioned. SXM packaged a Buick sponsorship production of a bonus episode of “Office Ladies.” Click for audio. Continue Reading
Steve Goldstein: If People Can’t Find Your Podcast, They Can’t Listen to It
by Steve Goldstein
If “findability” isn’t in every podcast creator’s lexicon, this guest column by Steve Goldstein will put it there. Steve details the search agony an enthusiastic and motivated user might have (and he did have) finding a podcast after hearing it advertised. An eye-opening read. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday, July 2
Jottings of Note
— Dutch Downloads (Triton Digital)
— Hispanic Excellence (Hispanic Radio Conference)
— Summer Predictions (Spotify)
Facebook podcasts: Where are they?
It has been nearly two weeks since Facebook’s June 21 announcement that podcast listening was added to the platform. The plan was a limited roll-out with four selected podcasters. We check their pages excitedly to try Facebook’s first audio-specific platform experience. Crickets. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Thursday, July 1
Jottings of Note
— Sitting in the Chair (Bill Wilson / NAB)
— Advising (Gary Krantz / Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips)
— Bilingual Research (Edison Research)