RAIN Notes: January 8
Award time – iHeartMedia
Podcasts before – Arielle Nissenblatt
Happy 10th – True Native Media Continue Reading
Spotify broadens its partner program, widening requirements
Spotify Partner Program, launched a year ago is widening its participation requirements, intending to bring in more podcasters. Three new criteria now define who can get in. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: January 7
From CES – Jacobs Media
AI partnership – UMG & Nvidia
Driving the next chapter – Molly DeMellier Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: January 6
The comeback of Rock – Alan Cross
The disappearance of leaders – Charleen Li Continue Reading
AM/FM “solace” for Canadian listeners
Canadian media/data company Numeris has released its AM/FM Radio Listening study for winter 2025. The word “solace” is interestingly used to describe Canadians’ use of in-home radio during the cold season. Click for metrics, graphs, and the download link. Continue Reading
Steve Goldstein: Podcasting 2026: The Ups and Downs of Audio in 2025
An even dozen. That’s the number of key developments in audio last year. “In 2025, the story wasn’t just about growth. It was about acceleration, convergence, and mounting pressure on long-standing models, metrics, and assumptions.” We are delighted to run Steve Goldstein’s first guest column of 2026, and look forward to many more. Continue Reading
RAIN Time Travel: January 2016 headlines
In this monthly feature, we look back one decade to January 2016, and revisit selected headlines. Click any item to visit the article. Happy decade surfing. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: December 23
Back to (New) Normal – Edison Research
Car/AM Predictions (AI) – NAB Continue Reading
New study lowers value expectation of YouTube for podcast advertising
Released on the cusp of the new year, a new study from podcast advertising agency Oxford Road seeks to debunk any assumption that YouTube simulcasting of podcasts is necessarily more effective than original audio for advertisers. Continue Reading
iHeart jumps on the video podcast train with built-in support
iHeartMedia announces the addition of video podcast production to its existing audio toolset. The video workflow is described as “seamless.” Creators will be enabled for audio and video distribution in both the app and web versions of iHeartRadio. In this announcement, iHeart is careful to honor the primacy of audio.” Continue Reading
Deloitte doubles down on video pod prediction
Finance and consulting giant Deloitte has doubled down on a podcast prediction, issuing the same basic forecast in a Wall Street Journal column, and on its home website. Video Podcast Market Poised for Booming Growth is the WSJ header. As… Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: December 23
Predictions (human) – CoHost
Predictions (AI) – ManticAI
Renewal – DAX Continue Reading