Pandora is exploring new approaches to improving its audio ads. The latest experiment is a shift in the length of ads, investigating whether short spots can still yield positive results with listeners. Based on the early findings from Pandora, ad recall had double-digit increases for both 10-second and 30-second spots. Continue Reading
E.W. Scripps had some shake-ups within its top leadership this month. Adam Symson took on the role of president and CEO on August 8. Since stepping into that CEO position, Symson has made some additional changes to Scripps’ executive team. Continue Reading
DGital Media sent RAIN News an exclusive preview of pivotal news which includes a new company name, a raft of new executive hires, and an expanded suite of production studios nationwide. Continue Reading
Podcast Movement, the podcast creator conference in its 4th year, is unfurling an ever increasing wing span in Anaheim this week. Unlike last year’s event in Chicago, this year’s installation in a coastal locale and larger venue seems to reflect the growth and maturation of podcasting. Continue Reading
Nielsen has released its Podcast Insights report for Q3 2017, which found that a full 50% of U.S. households now identify as podcast fans. The analysis focused on the crossover between those millions of podcast fan-households and three advertising categories to provide a snapshot of the value podcast listeners can offer to brands. Results draw on the Nielsen Homescan Panel. Continue Reading
The Interactive Advertising Bureau has released a new guide for podcast advertisers. The publication marks the first-ever buyer’s guide from the IAB about podcast advertising. With podcast advertising a continually hot topic for the audio industry, this guide consolidates some of the key talking points about why this format has so much potential for advertisers. Continue Reading
ART19 has closed a Series A financing round of $7.5 million. Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and DCM Ventures led the round, with United Talent Agency, Gallo Digital, Zach Coelius, and Array Ventures also included as investors. The podcast technology company is now predicting 300% revenue growth in 2017. Continue Reading
AdLarge Media announced the addition of hey, girl. to its cabana brand of podcast services and digital audio ad buying. Author Alex Elle created the program, where she interviews inspiring, interesting women for this show about self-discovery, sisterhood, and storytelling. Cabana is AdLarge’s division for podcast creation and ad representation. Continue Reading
RAIN Summit is heading to Australia! RAIN Summit Australia will take place in at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre on October 13, in collaboration with Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), and will be produced as part of Radio Alive 2017, the Australian radio industry’s annual national conference. Continue Reading
Sony Music has signed a deal with Dubset, a startup that helps with the management of rights in remixes and DJ sets. This agreement will allow artists to monetize their work when it is used in those modified formats, while the creators of those remixes and sets can be legally distributed to Apple Music and Spotify. Continue Reading
Australia-based Nova Entertainment hosted a contest to help the discovery of new podcasts in the country. The winner of the company’s second Podquest competition is Wendy John with her show Doomsday. Her prize is a production and marketing grant, along… Continue Reading
Billboard announced a revamp of its Emerging Artists chart. The new chart will be a break-out of the overall Billboard Artist 100 chart and replaces the weekly Billboard + Twitter Emerging Artists chart that debuted in 2014. The Emerging Artists will be identified by the same formula behind several other Billboard charts, with a combination of album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming, and social media buzz. Continue Reading