“Definitive Guide” to Spotify’s updated royalty system pits labels vs. artists

Posted on by Brad Hill

Jeff Price, indefatigable advocate for independent musical artists, has produced an information/fact sheet which explains how Spotify royalty calculations and payments work. This effort comes after the streaming company made significant changes to its payment allocations. Carrying the weighty title “The Definitive Guide to Spotify’s Changes In Sound Recording Royalty Calculations — And Its Impact on Artists,” the 26-page PDF (available HERE) is part explainer, part statistical sheet, and part accuser. It’s deep, complex, illuminating, and freely available. Continue Reading →

YouTube (finally) enables RSS for podcasts; but no ads allowed. (Sort of) Questions abound.

Posted on by Brad Hill

YouTube has (belatedly) enabled RSS feed uploads of audio podcasts. This awaited feature is important because YouTube is commonly cited in listener surveys as a preferred platform for consuming podcasts. RSS is the foundational anatomy of podcast distribution which makes hooked-up shows appear in all podcast listening apps. The announcement is plainly good news, eagerly awaited by the creator class. There is also uncertainty about details.  Continue Reading →

Magellan AI adds attention metrics with Adelaide partnership

Posted on by Brad Hill

Podcast market intelligence and measurement company Magellan AI has partnered with Adelaide to bring attention metrics into Magellan’s podcast measurement suite. The arrangement will bring out show-level attention ratings by campaign, giving advertisers more insight into campaign effectiveness.  The output of Adelaide’s technology is its so-called AU metric, a benchmarking score of listener engagement. Click to learn more. Continue Reading →

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James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: How successful have HD Radio’s additional channels been?

Posted on by James Cridland

by James Cridland

In his latest guest column, James Cridland reviews and analyzes HD Radio, comparing it to the UK’s DAB digital radio solution. HD Radio does not fare well in the comparison, for reasons ranging from low usage to poor user experience. “Now that HD Radio is more than 21 years old, it might be interesting to know how much listening there is to these HD2/HD3 stations. And it turns out… not much.” And James analyzes why that is. A must read for anyone interested in what went wrong with HD Radio adoption in the U.S., and a cross-continental comparison. Continue Reading →

Triton Digital announces integration with Amazon Publisher Service; expansion for both services

Posted on by Brad Hill

Triton Digital is taking advantage of this week’s CES electronics trade show to announce the integration of its advertising marketplace with Amazon Publisher Services (APS). The union expands Triton’s audio ad inventory to existing APS publishers, and extends Amazon’s “interactive audio ads” to the Triton Digital advertising network. Continue Reading →