Local Radio Freedom Act resolution reaches majority support; musicFIRST replies

Posted on by Brad Hill

It’s not binding legislation. The Local Radio Freedom Act is a resolution bill which declares support among House Representatives in D.C. for opposing a performance royalty levied on American radio. As of this week, with the addition of 12 new signatures, the current House of  Representatives is not majority aligned against a royalty … which the NAB calls a “tax.” Advocacy group musicFIRST sent us an opposition statement. Continue Reading →

Pandora / Publicis / Edison study: 50% of “heavy” listeners are 35+

Posted on by Brad Hill

Pandora is releasing a raft of survey results gleaned from a study conducted by the streaming company in league with Publicis Media Exchange and Edison Research. The purpose is for advertisers to better understand levels of consumer adoption of streaming. Pandora is releasing a raft of survey results gleaned from a study conducted by the streaming company in league with Publicis Media Exchange and Edison Research. The purpose is for advertisers to better understand levels of consumer adoption of streaming. Click through for extensive results/ Continue Reading →

Pandora adds podcast controls to Alexa skill

Posted on by Brad Hill

Pandora is announcing that its Alexa “skill” set now includes podcast listening and controls. In addition to the basic hook-up between Alexa and Pandora’s podcasts, the new skill set includes a request for a specific episode (“Alexa, play the latest episode of Ted Talks Daily”), requesting an episode by topic (“Alexa, play the Ted Talks Daily episode about procrastination”) and using playback controls for hands-free podcast control while in the skill. Continue Reading →

SiriusXM earnings: Cost of acquisitions (Stitcher; Simplecast)

Posted on by Brad Hill

SiriusXM held its Q2 earnings call, during which the cost of the recently acquired Stitcher was revealed — it is $265-million. Buying Simplecast cost the satellite company $28-million. The earnings call also reminded investors of a February SoundCloud investment of $75-million. On the financial side, Sirius subscription revenue notched up a bit from the same quarter in 2019.
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APM announces new podcasts and a returning season

Posted on by Brad Hill

American Public media (APM) has sent PR descriptions of two new podcasts, and one returning show. The return is season two of Spectacular Failures, which is described as “ridiculous stories of business disasters. The new season drops on August 3. No trailer yet. One new show features comedian Tig Nagaro. The other comes from Marketplace and is a children’s show. Continue Reading →

Impact (Brian Grazer, Ron Howard) choose ART19 for hosting / distribution

Posted on by Brad Hill

Impact, which is a content accelerator and online marketplace co-founded by Imagine Entertainment’s partners Brian Grazer & Ron Howard, has selected leading audio platform ART19 to host and distribute IMPACT: The Podcast. The show is described this way: “Impact’s new podcast brings together storytellers and entertainment industry leaders to explore the process of content creation and the way art shapes the world around us.” Tons of celebrity guests. Continue Reading →