The acquisition of Triton Digital by E.W. Scripps has closed, the parent company announced this morning. First announced six weeks ago, the merger settles what has been an uneven path for Triton in 2018, as it adds an important piece to Scripps’ digital acquisition strategy. Continue Reading
Panoply Media’s lead data analyst, David Martin, has penned a blog post exploring the value of podcast ratings. Martin defines a rating is the number of 1-5 stars a listener gives a show, while a review is their written assessment. The podcast company’s statistics showed that about 80% of shows in the U.S. iTunes store have no ratings listed. Continue Reading
Major labels and publishers are quick to call in the copyright lawyers, and this time their target was a podcast that they claimed was illegally using music in episodes. David Oxenford explains the distinctions between different performance licenses and what podcasters should do to stay on the right side of copyright law. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group has hired Jess Keeley-Carter as its new senior vice president of global digital marketing. She will assume the role beginning January 14. She joins the label from Facebook, where she oversaw label partnerships in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Continue Reading
Apple Music will be arriving on Amazon Echo smart speakers by the end of the year. Access to Apple’s streaming service will begin for subscribers the week of December 17. Customers will be able to control playback from Apple’s library with voice commands on the line of smart speakers. Continue Reading
Fox News Radio is adding three original podcasts to its slate of free-to-listen programs. The radio network archives many of Fox’s TV shows for on-demand listening, but those programs are maintained behind a Premium firewall. On the free side, the FOX News Radio page shows 21 shows. Continue Reading
Free podcast production and hosting service Anchor is introducing a new monetization plan for U.S. podcasters. Anchor Sponsorships is an automated service which matches advertisers with podcasts, and invites podcasters to create host-read breaks and insert them in their new and past shows. It’s an interesting long-tail play for both podcasters and brands. Continue Reading
Tidal has entered into a deal with personal media library Plex. The streaming service has been fully integrated into Plex, the first company of its kind to do so. In addition to making the entire Tidal library available through Plex’s mobile and TV apps, the recommendation and discovery engines of Tidal and Plex will be able to work together, promising better suggested listening. Continue Reading
Omny Studio, the audio publishing platform, has entered a programmatic advertising partnership with Rubicon Project. This deal will see Omny Studio offering pre-roll video advertisements for podcast listens on the web. Customers will be able to connect their shows to Rubicon Project’s video advertising marketplace, adding a new monetization option for podcasters under Omny’s umbrella. Continue Reading
Qobuz, a high-resolution music streaming and download service, announced that it plans to launch in the United States in 2019. The company has not set a target date, but it has been slowly edging towards the move for many months. Continue Reading
Global, the UK-based media and entertainment conglomerate, announced that it will launch support for podcasts in its Global Player app. The software platform lets listeners tune in to all of Global’s radio brands. Now it will also house a library of 1,500 premium podcasts. Continue Reading
Acast announced that it is launching its first personalized podcast ads. The podcast platform’s latest feature is powered by A Million Ads, and the service will be available across Acast’s entire global network. According to the press release, elements including the voiceover, the sound effects, and the music of an ad can be customized to a particular listener’s specific situation. Continue Reading